Soul Halves
by Nemisor
Summary: Everybody thought Bakura was gone for good. But when Yami suddenly needs him, he is brought back. Will Bakura co-operate, will he save Yami's life? Only if he gets something in return, and only if he regains his sanity, before it's too late.
1. A beast, an island and a phone call

_A/N: It's cold out here, -17 Celsius degrees. So I'm freezing my ass off, and I love it. I'm such a winter person. Now, here is the first chapter of my hopefully long story. :D There will be darkshipping, (YAY!) but there will be no Ryou abuse, 'cos I don't like it. So even though Bakura is gone he is no Ryou abuser. _

_Warnings: There will be violence, swearing and yaoi (man/man). Yup, that's probably all, oh and dark themes, maybe, I'm not sure what they are.(?)_

_Disclaimer: Every person who tries to sue me for owning Yu-Gi-Oh, will be very disappointed, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. And all you will get from suing me is a frozen ass._

* * *

**1. chapter: A beast, an island and a phone call**

Near the coast of Japan stood a lone rocky island, though it was more like a bunch rocks together than an island anyway. There were nothing but rocks, and water, rocks and water as far as the eye could see.

This place was isolated. Ships avoided island. Fishes didn't swim near these waters. Birds didn't fly over it. Even the gods had turned their backs to the island. Nobody wanted to come near this place. Why? Because...

A beast lived in there. Horrible beast, full of anger and spite, towards everything, everybody. A beast who could kill without mercy in blink of an eye. It was prisoned here, so it could hurt no one, no more. The beast was immortal, so it couldn't die. It lived here and it hated.

How was it like to be an immortal on a isolated island?

Obviously there was no food in this island, and only water was undrinkable, salty seawater.

You could die from hunger and thirst thousand times, only to find yourself praying for food and clean water once again.

You could throw yourself against the rocks thousand times, until every bone in your body was broken, only to find your wounds healed by the morning.

You could try to drown yourself thousand times, only to be washed back to shore unconscious, and throwing up seaweed.

Hardly nobody knew that beast lived here. But sometimes when it stormed, when wind was blowing you over, when rain soaked you to the bone, when it thundered and it was lightning with blinding force, you could hear a scream. Scream louder than thunder. Scream filled with anger. Scream promising revenge.

For the beast was alive. And it waited.

* * *

"See 'ya guys!" Yugi waved to his friends.

They waved back.

"Bye Yugi, bye Yami!" Jou yelled.

"See 'ya tomorrow!" Ryou shouted. "And thanks for everything!"

Yami and Yugi walked towards home. Another school day was, thank god, over. It was late April, summer was just around the corner and you could feel it. Weather was unusually warm for April, it almost felt like it was summer already, minus the vacation. No matter how warm was, you still needed to go to school.

Life for Yami and Yugi was peaceful nowadays. They both went to school. To their disbelief everybody had believed the twins-crap, they told everybody, when Yami entered the school in his own body. Yami had successfully got rid of his greatest enemies. No more needed he to dodge assassins, knives or random objects thrown at his direction. No more needed he to worry about if someone was waiting in his house with a gun, when he came in. No more was he chased by a person wielding a kitchen knife, and screaming for revenge.

Marik and Malik lived in Egypt now. They moved in there about eight months ago. Malik was studying and his psychotic yami was causing havoc and terrorizing the poor citizens of Egypt and tourists who got in his way.

And finally about half year ago, Yami had got rid of Bakura for good. Sending the ancient thief to Shadow Realm had been proved fruitless, for Bakura always found some kind of a loophole, and bang, he was back in business. So instead of just sending him there for a little while, Yami sealed Bakura away with Shadow magic. Now Bakura was half in this world, and half in Shadow Realm, stuck between two places. Getting a body of his own, was the worst mistake Bakura ever made, because of that Yami could get him. Apparently the plan had worked. Nobody had heard of Bakura since that stormy day of October.

"Ain't that cute?" Yugi asked. "Ryou still thanks you."

"Yeah," Yami said, "He seems a lot happier than before."

"Yeah, a lot. But letting Bakura go wasn't easy for Ryou. His and Bakura's relationship was always complicated. They didn't exactly hate each other, but neither did they like each other," Yugi told. "He chose between his soul half and his friends. In the end he chose us, and I'm not saying he chose wrong. But it's never easy to give up something. And Ryou gave up his other half, for us. I appreciate him. He deserves to be happy. "

" I know. Ryou knew it's better for all of us if Bakura's gone," Yami said. "He made his decision and he can't change that, no matter how much he might regret it. Now it's better. So much better."

"I'm not so sure," Yugi whispered to the wind, when his yami wasn't hearing.

* * *

First the beast stopped wishing. After few months came the realization. It could not escape. Nobody was letting it escape. Nobody was going to come and get it out of there.

Then it stopped dreaming. Its usual vivid dreams, even its nightmares were replaced with plain darkness. It could dream no more. Its ability to dream was taken, and it got nothing in return.

In the end, it stopped sleeping. And when it couldn't sleep, it wanted the darkness to come back. Dreams or no dreams, it needed some way out. It needed to escape, through sleep, through this darkness. Now only way to do it was to become unconscious. And every time it passed out, the next time was harder and harder. It took it several hours of self mutilation to pass out. It was awake, it was aware of everything; pain, blood, its life. The worst thing was that the beast knew why it couldn't pass out easily anymore, it was becoming strong. For the first time, the beast cursed its own strength.

It lied awake, watching as the days and nights passed by, and turned into weeks. It lied awake, until it lost track of time and every day was the same. It lied awake and was slowly losing its mind.

* * *

"Yami will you help me with my history homework?" Yugi asked.

Yami, who sat on the couch, and whose bored eyes scanned the TV screen, sighed.

"You should do your own homework," he replied.

Yugi tilted his head, holding his history book close to his chest.

"You don't wanna help?" He asked.

"No, I don't wanna," Yami confirmed.

"You sure?" Yugi waved his book in front of Yami's nose, "It's about Egypt," He said, his voice tempting.

"Well, okay, since I got nothing better to do," Yami said, defeated. Yugi let out of small squeal of success and happiness. "But only if you stop waving your book in front of my face," Yami continued. "Geez Yugi, you're gonna hit somebody someday, if you don't stop that. I'm gonna make myself coffee first. Want some?"

Yugi shook his head.

"Nah, I'll pass."

"Ok, try to get something done before I come back, will you?"

"Of course," Yugi grinned, obviously lying.

Yami just turned the TV off and headed to kitchen, shaking his head in amusement. Humming softly a song he heard on radio yesterday, Yami started making coffee.

Something odd happened when was taking his mug from the cupboard. Yami was deep in thought, as his fingers wrapped around the mug...

And went right through it.

Yami pulled quickly his hand from the cupboard and stared at it, frowning.

'What the hell just happened?' Yami thought, still staring at his perfectly normal-looking hand. He just shrugged it off, decided not think about it too much. He was probably just imagining things. He tried to take the mug again. This time nothing weird happened, Yami got the mug and poured coffee into it. He took a sip. Warm liquid filled his mouth. Ah, black coffee, the best kind of coffee he could think of. Now, maybe he really should go and help his hikari with his homework.

Yugi was sitting on the living room cough, giving a blank look to the cartoon, currently running on the TV.

"Yugi," Yami growled, not really angry, more like teasing, startling the smaller teen. "You were supposed to start doing your homework, while I was gone. How can I help you if you don't even try?"

Embarrassed Yugi turned to face his yami.

"Sorry Yami, I was just..."

Suddenly Yami's coffee mug hit the floor and shattered into pieces. Yami flinched. He had felt it. He never lost his grip, he never dropped the mug. The mug had gone through his fingers. He wasn't imagining things. No, he certainly wasn't. Something was going on. Something was terribly wrong. And he wanted to know what the hell it was!

Yami stared at the pieces of the white mug. It was his favorite mug. It was simple and white mug with two blue stripes. He had got it from Yugi last Christmas. Now pieces of his mug lied on the floor, in poodle of black coffee. White and blue striped piece and back liquid.

Yami could almost hear _him _screaming into his ears.

Yami kicked one of the striped pieces over. It's funny how one's mind could turn something as simple as coffee into blood and how pieces of mug could remind Yami about _him._

"Yami," Yugi whispered.

"Just a second aibou, I will clean my mess. Don't worry about it, " Yami answered, absent-minded, not really listening.

"It's not that," Yugi said, his voice quivering. "Yami, I can see through you."

Yami's head jerked up.

"What?!"

Yugi, still sitting on the cough, just nodded. Yami blinked. He looked at himself. Yugi was right, he could see through himself. Yami turned around and said, his voice shaking:

"I'm gonna call Malik and ask if he can tell me what the hell is going on. Yugi will you please clean this mess?"

Yugi nodded again, not really knowing what to say, or do.

Yami headed towards kitchen.

"Yami!" Yugi yelled after him. "Just one more thing!"

"Hmm?"

"You're also floating!"

...

"Fuck!"

* * *

Yami dialed the number. It had took him ten minutes to make the phone not to drop through his fingers. He had to focus solely to his fingertips in order to keep the phone in his hands. Yami tapped his foot against the air.

_'Pick up, pick up, pick up.' _He mentally orderer whoever was near the phone he was trying to connect with. By the time someone finally picked up the phone, Yami was ready to pull his hair out.

"Hello," answered the voice, speaking Arabic.

"Marik, I'm so glad you answered!" Yami practically shouted.

"Oh, pharaoh. Did you just call to say hi or do you want something?" asked the psycho, in the other end of the line.

"Marik, I need help! Something is happening..."

" I figured out that much," Marik said. "Nobody ever calls just to say hello. But pharaoh, Malik is not here. He went out to find some fucking book and locked me up here." A pause, in which Yami could almost hear Marik smirk. "He doesn't want me to run around freely."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't really need Malik, you do just fine."

"Yami-problems?" Marik suggested.

"Yes."

"Well then, tell me pharaoh."

And so Yami told Marik everything. About the mug. How his fingers went through it. How Yugi could see through him. How he started floating instead of walking.

"...Feels like I'm losing my body and becoming just a spirit again," Yami concluded.

"That's probably exactly what's happening," Marik said sifting his position, judging by the rustle of the clothes Yami could hear through the line.

"So this has happened to someone before?" Yami asked

"Yup," said Marik, with a tone that implied that the person talking was staring at his fingernails, like they were the most interesting thing in the world, possibly in the whole universe. "Sorry to tell you this, but if you don't do something, fast, you're gonna disappear entirely. It was nice to know you, pharaoh."

Marik was hanging up, but Yami stopped him.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Yami screamed. "I'm gonna die? Just like that? C'mon Marik, there must be something I can do!"

"Well, I don't have the answers, and neither does Malik, but hey you can always ask Bakura. He knows. See 'ya!"

Marik hang up. The phone dropped through Yami's fingers.

'Ask Bakura, he knows.'

Yami could hear _his _angry screams.

* * *

_A/N. And that's the first chapter of Soul halves. Hope you enjoyed it._


	2. Insane Eyes

_A/N_: _I'm super-happy right now, I went to candy factory today, it was a school trip. :D It was super awesome, I loved that place, they let us eat as much chocolate as we wanted, and I'm so on sugar-high right now. All I can do is giggle and sing stupid songs (mostly Finnish), I'm so glad I wrote this yesterday. Who here loves candy? I think all of us * munches happily a chocolate bar* I see squares, I see squares, but I don't wanna see squares, I want circles (?)... Yes I'm weird. BTW my story has a pretty fast tempo, if it's too fast, please inform me, and I will struggle to slow it down. *imagines herself trying to stop a train* Ough! :D  
_

_Warnings: Swearing ( so much f-words *stares* O_o), blood, flashbacks (fear my scary flashbacks :D) stuff, and an author who have eaten too much candy, and might attack you with hugs (I'm not a violent person, be happy)._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! (nothing creative here :( )  
_

_A/N: The sugar-high side of my brain wanted to give this chapter some weird (and Finnish) name, like, I don't know: _Me ollaan taas hevonkuusessa_ (?). I'm so glad my reasonable side won. Here's the second chapter of Soul Halves:_

* * *

**2. chapter:** **Insane Eyes**

_His head was tilted, arms crossed, and that cocky smile on his face, quite charming actually. His eyes were targeted to Yami. His pupils were unbelievably small, like he was on drugs. But he after some observing everybody could he tell he wasn't. He was insane. When like this he was most dangerous. When like this, it was no point reasoning with him. When like this, insane, he was the scariest, most arrogant, unpredictable, and fucking dangerous._

_He threw his head back and laughed. His piercing laughter echoed in Yami's ears long after the spirit himself had stopped laughing._

* * *

"But sir!" man opposed. "I can't take you to an island that doesn't exist!"

The man tapped map with his hand clarifying that, indeed there was no island there. Map hung on the wall behind man's desk. Yami put his hand on his temples and sighed in annoyance. Slowly he started counting to ten. He mustn't send this fucker to the Shadow Realm. No he mustn't. He needed to calm down, he needed this man. Yami felt a headache coming. How much he wanted just to turn solid and punch the man right to the middle of his face. In the past few days Yami had lost all his solidity, he was now back in a spirit form. But if he wanted, he could, by focusing, turn solid, but it took a lot of his energy, and he couldn't remain like that for long. After considering every option he had, he had come to a conclusion that Bakura must be retrieved. No matter how much he hated doing this, it was something that has to be done. He never realized how hard this could be. This was the third person, they have asked to take them to that island.

Everybody had said that there was no island. Of course there was a island, but it was sealed away and hidden from anybody else. Yami hadn't wanted anybody just ran into Bakura, and _save_ him. Hell, Bakura wasn't supposed to be saved, and here Yami was, going to a little happy trip, to save his little happy friend, if he ever get to that little happy island. Yeah, fuck it.

"Besides," man continued. " These are dangerous waters. Many ships have sunk."

"How can they sink, if there's nothing there?" Yugi asked.

"Uh," man blinked, obviously realizing that he had talked himself into a trap. "Fuck!"

"Does that mean you can take us there?" Yugi asked, sweet, but creepy little smile on his face.

Man nodded slowly, still not quite realizing what he was getting himself into.

"Awesome!" Jou cheered.

Yami and Yugi had agreed to take Jou and Honda with them, in case some assistance was needed, which probably would be. Because Yami doubted that Bakura would be happy when seeing them. Yeah, that beast probably would jump to strangle him the moment he'd see him. Ryou was coming along too, there was no question about it. But when Anzu said she wanted to come too, Yami had said no. They didn't need Anzu, only useful thing the girl could do is get killed by Bakura, and Yami didn't want to attend her funeral, not really.

Yugi smiled to Yami, who floated beside him. Yami didn't answer to the smile. He started darkly at the map, which showed no island there.

* * *

_Golden shackles wrapped themselves firmly around slender body._

_Yami kept his hands on his Puzzle, and let the Shadow Magic flow freely around them. _

_Bakura's hands reached out for Yami, tried to claw him, make him stop. He struggled against the shackles. But shackles pressed his arms against his sides, leaving marks on his skin, and forced his legs together._

_Bakura screamed, both in pain and in rage._

_Bakura's body bended backwards grotesquely, until he was almost double bended. Screams covered up the soft snaps that his bones made as they broke._

_Shackles wrapped around Bakura again holding him in that painful position._

_Yami closed his eyes. _

_He waited until Bakura was fully gone, and only echoes of his screams remained._

_

* * *

_

"Ok, captain, you can stop the boat now," Yugi said.

The captain turned the engine off and lowered the anchor.

"There's still no island, sir," he said, scratching his head in wonder.

"Just wait and see, " Yugi assured and headed to the prow.

Ryou was already standing there, staring into spaces.

"Hey Ryou, are you okay?" Yugi asked putting his hand on his friends shoulder.

"Just a little confused," Ryou answered.

Yugi merely nodded. Yami floated next to them.

"Aibou, I need to use your body, so I can break the seal. Is that okay?"

"Go ahead, Yami," Yugi said and slipped away, letting Yami in.

How he hated this, using his hikari's body again. He didn't want this.

Yami, now in control of Yugi's body, closed his eyes and put his hands on the Millennium Puzzle. He could immediately feel it. The Shadow Magic swirling around him. Yami opened his eyes. It seemed like everything in front of him was covered in thick dark fog. Behind that fog was the island. Yami stretched his hand out, so his fingertips toughed the fog. The fog, even though it didn't look like it, created a solid dome surrounding the island.

Yami started chanting an ancient spell.

Beneath his fingers the dome started cracking, the seal was breaking, and the Shadow Magic, that was used to create the dome, was drawn back to the Puzzle. The fog cleared out and Yami's fingers toughed nothing but air.

Yami let his, Yugi's, hands fall limply to his sides and slowly slipped away from Yugi, letting the teenager to have control of his body again.

"Ok let's go!" Yugi said to his friends and spirit, now floating beside him.

"Wait, maybe one of us should stay here, just in case," Ryou suggested. " Our captain doesn't seem to to be feeling very well."

Ryou pointed to the man. Poor man, pale and shaking, was leaning against the railing and was mumbling something about islands, mermaids and how all they needed was a fucking Kraken.

"I'll stay," Honda said.

"Okay, we'll call you if we need assistance," Yugi said.

A trail of rocks started just around the boat, if they would have gone just a little farther they would have hit the rocks. By using them as path they could get to the island. One by one, Yami first, and Jou last, they got off the boat and hopped from one rock to another.

* * *

"Hey guys, do you see the blood?" Jou asked.

Nobody answered. Yes, they could see the blood. It was everywhere. Dark and dried red marks on the rocks. It seemed like something had hit them, hard.

In silence, they walked to the center of the island. Bakura was nowhere to be seen, but they could feel his presence. It was all around them, bringing them down, giving a clear warning. Try to find me and die. Look for me and die. Leave me and survive. Leave me behind, leave me alone. Let me be!

But they were not going to leave him, at least not Yami, he needed him. Yami tried to look for him. He could feel him, his Magic. Shadow Magic was still strong in him, after six months of imprisonment. Twisted and dark, it was everywhere around Yami. It was in his blood, on the marks on the rocks.

Yami heard a rustle. It came behind them.

Yami turned around, a mysterious piece stuck in his throat and his heart pounding in his ears. Thump, thump, so loud it almost made him deaf

Behind them, it was him, Bakura.

Bakura was crouched, he was more like standing on four feet than the normal two. His posture made him look more like an animal than a human.

Bakura's skin and hair was wet, he had probably swam in the ocean just few minutes ago. A small poodle of water was forming under his bare feet.

If before Bakura had been Ryou's reflection, now he was more like a twisted caricature, hardly even resembling his hikari anymore.

His clothes were torn. What used to be his shirt, was now nothing but few blue and white shreds of cloth, hanging from around his chest and arms. His white hair was tangled and covered with dried blood and dirt. Bakura was thin, like a skeleton, every single bone in his body could be clearly seen, especially his ribs. His waist would make any supermodel jealous, but he was clearly suffering. It looked like he had never seen food in his life. His pale skin was covered in dirt, cuts and bruises. One of ribs seemed broken. There were claw marks on his chest. Such self mutilation, such hatred.

Left half of his face had lost all its skin. It was nothing but bloody mess, starting from his jaw and ending to his eyebrow. Yami didn't even want to know what had caused that.

Nothing in this was Bakura they knew.

Nothing expect the eyes. In the middle of bloody mess, and in the dirt were his eyes, in the middle of whiteness were small pupils. Insane eyes.

And they stared.

Yami swallowed loudly. This was a game, a serious one. If he did something, if he moved, Bakura would snap. He would wake from his trance and then...

Nobody could tell what Bakura would do.

This was a staring contest in its extreme. And Bakura wouldn't lose. He wouldn't move, wouldn't blink.

It was just matter of time.

And Bakura had plenty.

In the end Yami would lose, they would lose.

Bakura wasn't going to close his eyes.

Others had noticed Bakura now too. They all watched him, eyes full of fear, discomfort, uncertainty, and pity, maybe?

They all stood and stared. The whole world was quiet, expect the small drops of water, that ever so loudly dripped down from Bakura's skin. Quiet.

Someone would have to break that silence, eventually. No?

It was Yugi, who couldn't keep himself from speaking.

"Bakura," he called out, trying to keep his voice calm, not to startle the person in front of them.

Bakura's head snapped to face Yugi, and a feral grin appeared on his bloody face.

Faster than anyone could see, he pounced. Next think everyone registered was how Yugi fell down and was pinned to the ground, Bakura on top of him. Then Yugi screamed. Jou was first to react to this sudden noise.

"Fucking beast!" he yelled and kicked Bakura. Bakura's ribs let out a loud crack. He yelped in surprise and rolled off.

"He bit me!" Yugi screamed in disbelief as Jou helped him up. Blood was flowing down from a wound on Yugi's shoulder.

Bakura was back on his feet, licking blood from his lips, savoring it. After that he, howling in rage, attacked Jou. His nails dug in boy's body, and teeth sunk into his arm. Jou gripped Bakura's hair with his hands and tried to pull the stubborn beast off, not succeeding.

"Ryou!" Yami yelled." Try to use your mind link!"

Ryou nodded and close his eyes. He searched a familiar connection from inside his mind. Once he found it, he opened it.

Hate. Hot, passionate, overwhelming hate. That's all that Ryou got through his mind link. Not a single humane thought. Just hatred, pain, and blood lust. And it was forcing it's way into Ryou's mind, trying to drown his every thought with simple pain. Ryou slammed the mind link shut, fast.

"It's no use, I can't speak to him. He's human no more! He's gone berserk!" Ryou yelled.

Jou slammed Bakura's body against the rocks. Bakura kicked, screamed, bit and clawed, refusing to let go, to feel pain.

Yami just watched. How he hated this, just floating around, watching how his friend fought against this beast, unable to do anything.

"Don't hurt him!" Yugi yelled, holding his wound.

"More like _it _to me!" Jou cursed. "Pass. Out. Fucking. Bastard!"

Bakura's body was slammed against the rocks, again and again. New blood was splattered on the rocks from reopened wounds. Loud cracks, screams, noise, horrible noise.

Finally Bakura's eyes slipped close, his grip loosening, and a creepy smile appearing on his face.

Jou panted and wiped some sweat from his face, letting Bakura's limp body slip down.

"Okay, now let's get some rope, tie this fucker up and get the hell out of here. This place gives me creeps!"

Yami stared at the unconscious Bakura, and shuttered.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading! *waves at your direction happily* In case your screen suddenly turns into chocolate, and you hear someone laughing manically, don't worry, it's just me and my army of chocolate bars! *Giggles*  
_


	3. Awakening

* * *

_A/N: Hi! It's me again, and the third chapter of Soul Halves. This chapter was one of those hard chapters, that you just can't get right. So, I'm not very happy with this, obviously *sighs* This is also a little shorter chapter than the last two. Forgive me! _

_This author note has been edited, and the angst have been cut to half! xD  
_

_Disclaimer: Don't wanna._

_Warnings: Nahhhh.._

* * *

**3.** **chapter: Awakening  
**

"Do you want to stay overnight?" Yugi asked. "Just in case Bakura wakes up, I think you are the best person to handle him if that happens."

"Okay," Ryou agreed.

Two hikaris sat in the Mutou's kitchen. Cups of steaming tea was placed in front of them.

Yami was talking with Yugi's grandpa over the phone. Mr. Mutou had gone out of town to see his old friends. He would be home in few days, and Yami felt that he had a responsibility to explain why exactly they had dragged unconscious and badly injured Bakura into their house.

Bakura, on the other hand, was still unconscious, to everyone's relief. He lied on a mattress in Mutou's basement. After long talking and thinking, Yugi had come to a conclusion that the basement was the only place safe enough to hold Bakura inside if the yami happen to woke up angry. Basement door was locked now, and the only key was safely in Yugi's pocket.

After they have left the island, things had become hard. Their captain, still in shock, had almost sunk the whole ship. And after getting on dry land again, all they had got was dark stares, most of them were targeted at Honda who was carrying Bakura. They hoped that no one had called the police. After half hour bus ride they had finally got to Mutou's place. Honda and Jou had carried Bakura and the mattress down to the basement, and after cleaning Jou's wounds, left.

Ryou and Yugi had started a long job, of cleaning and treating Bakura's injuries. Then they dressed him with some old clothes Ryou had brought with him. After that Bakura looked more like what he used to be, expect of the thinness, which was almost impossible to cover.

Yugi had left some food and water next to Bakura's bed, while Ryou had checked Bakura's bandages for the last time and covered him with a blanket, basement wasn't after all the warmest place in the house. Then the boys had gone upstairs and made themselves some tea. And about here is where we are now.

"Great," Yugi smiled. "Yami will also be happy to hear that."

Ryou nodded and sipped his tea.

"I think I should talk to him," he said.

"Hmm?"

"I mean Bakura, when he wakes up, I'll talk to him first, if that's okay?"

"It's fine. I think you should do that too. I doubt the first thing Bakura wants to see is me or Yami."

"Yup."

Yugi finished his tea and sighed tiredly.

"Now all we can do is wait. Let's make you a bed."

* * *

Yami found it hard to sleep that night.

And he knew exactly why. He had two reasons. First was, of course, that Bakura was in the house, even though unconscious. And Yami was supposed to ask a favor from him, when he woke up. Yami couldn't help but think, what he should say and do, and how Bakura would react. Probably he would laugh, that insane laugh of his. Or he would stare at Yami creepily, and then there would be an awkward silence, and then... He probably shouldn't think too much.

Second reason was that it was pretty hard to fall asleep, when you float few inches above the bed. Yami sighed and turned over. He was too tired to focus keeping himself solid. Well, he could probably stay awake for one night, it couldn't be that bad.

Ryou was awake too. He lied on a mattress next to Yugi's bed and stared at the ceiling. His thoughts were on Bakura too. His thoughts and feelings were bundled up together, into a one big mess, and that's what Ryou felt like right now, messy.

Since those two were awake, they were first to notice when Bakura woke up.

Something crashed against the wall downstairs. Sound of breaking glass reached their ears.

Ryou stood up, as Yami slid into Yugi's room. For a second they both stared at each other and blinked. Then Yami floated next to Yugi and started shaking him.

"Yugi!" he whispered. "Wake up!"

Yugi groaned and rolled over, but opened his eyes.

"What now?" he yawned, reaching for his alarm clock. "It's two a.m." he announced after staring at his clock for a while.

"Yugi, we think Bakura has awakened!" Ryou hissed.

Yugi blinked and jumped up. He was soon on his feet, a key in his hands. The trio rushed downstairs. Yugi turned the lights on. Everything was silent again as they approached the basement door. Yugi grabbed a flashlight from nearby table. Yami put his finger on his lips, telling them that they should remain silent. Yugi and Ryou nodded. Yugi turned the door handle. They entered the room, Yugi first, and Ryou and Yami right behind him. They stood silent on the stairs.

They listened.

Bakura was moving. Light steps wandered around the room. Some items were moved, some were thrown away, and some were broken. Then the sound of steps stopped, right where the stairs began. Bakura sniffed the air, much like a dog or a wolf, looking for a particular scent. When he caught it...

Yami, Yugi and Ryou stood frozen on the stairs.

A dark chuckle could be heard. Bakura's nails clicked against the wood, as he, on four feet again, started climbing up the stairs, towards them.

"Put the flashlight on!" Yami whispered a command.

Yugi did so. A flash of light illuminated the staircase in front of them, and startled Bakura.

Bakura pulled his sleeve in front of his eyes, to protect them from sudden light, crouching as he did so. An annoyed growl escaped his throat.

Ryou yanked Yugi outside from collar of his pajama. Yami slammed the door shut, and leaned against it in thought.

Three of them stood in silence for a while. No sound was heard from the basement anymore. At last Ryou spoke:

"I hope you didn't have anything valuable in there."

* * *

In the morning, Ryou woke up tired. After he had eaten breakfast he headed to the basement door again, with two plates in his hands.

Yami opened it for him. Ryou went inside. Yami stared at the darkness, where Ryou disappeared, before slowly shutting the door, making sure it wasn't locked.

When Ryou was safely in the basement, he lowered the plates to the floor. One had a bloody steak in it and the other just plain water.

Ryou looked around him, taking few steps backwards. Light seeped to the basement through a small window. Basement was messy, things were broken and out of their place. Ryou saw the pieces of broken plate. That one had probably woken him up last night. Bakura was hiding somewhere.

Ryou sat on one of the stairs and waited.

Soon, just like he had predicted, a sniffing sound could be heard. Bakura appeared behind one of the boxes. Without fear he dashed towards two plates and started ripping the steak into pieces.

Ryou stared at his yami for a while. Then he closed his eyes, searching for their mind link. Again, as he opened it, he was overpowered with Bakura's emotions. This time they were mix of everything. Every feeling, thought and emotion was blended together so he couldn't really tell where one thing started and the other ended.

Determined Ryou pushed his way through this wall and searched until he found that Bakura, who understood. Ryou took that part of Bakura and dragged it back with him, to his side of the mind link, so it wasn't silenced by the wall of emotions anymore. Then he opened his eyes and asked:

"Bakura?"

There were a brief silence.

"Little one," Bakura purred licking blood from his fingers, seeming almost normal. His voice was coarse, but that was just because he hadn't talked for a long time.

"Bakura," Ryou repeated.

"Are you happy now, little one?"

Ryou shrugged, not understanding the question.

"You brought me back," Bakura stated. "And my wounds have been treated. I'm needed, correct?"

Ryou nodded.

"Then, I wonder, why I was sent there in the first place?" Bakura mused and looked at Ryou.

"I'm not the one who needs you." Ryou said.

Bakura tilted his head.

"You don't need me?" he asked, with an amused tone."Tell me, Ryou, why did you sent me there? Why did you let it happen? Why exactly?"

"I don't need you, I can live without you."

"Is that your answer? You can live without me? But not without your friends, correct?"

Ryou hesitated.

"Little one, I'm half of you. I'm your soul half, you do need me. That's not the right answer."

Ryou didn't say anything.

"Maybe. Maybe you thought that if I were gone, you'd be perfect," Bakura guessed." Do you want to be perfect Ryou?"

Ryou shook his head.

"We both know you're lying. Everyone wants to be perfect, especially my little Ryou."

Bakura stood up and walked next to Ryou.

"You owe me little one," He hissed into Ryou's ear. "I'm everything you don't want to be, my perfect little light," He spat.

Ryou shook his head again and started talking:

"Yami came to talk to me. He said he knew how to get rid of you, for good. He knew some kind of spell, and with that he could seal you away. He probably would have done that without asking me, but Yugi had said that he should talk to me first. He said that I should choose between them and you. And I... I don't know, I said yes..."

"So it was pharaoh," Bakura thought, tapping his finger against his lower lip.

"Maybe I really thought I would be better off without you..."

"And?"

" I guess, I'm sorry," Ryou shrugged.

"You guess you're..." Bakura laughed. "You have no idea what that island did to me!"

Ryou stood up.

"You stay here. I will bring you food later."

Bakura just watched, frozen still, as Ryou climbed up the stairs. Ryou stopped in front of the door and turned to face Bakura.

"I know what that island did to you," he said. " It made you insane."

Then Ryou opened the door and left the room. As the door clicked shut Bakura screamed behind his hikari.

"Better me than you, right?!"

* * *

_A/N_: _And that's it. I have nothing more to say. *feels angsty*_


	4. Insane Laughter

_A/N: Wow, two updates in three days. I'm fast. This chapter was fun to write, hope you like it too. i would talk more, but I'm in hurry. let's just say that Marik and Malik are back!  
_

_Warnings: Super long flashback (kinda) and violence, definitely violence._

_Disclaimer: nope_

_

* * *

_**Chapter 4. Insane Laughter (I wanna go to Japan)**

"Well, well, look who's here. My perfect little hikari and his perfect little friends," Bakura spat, when he saw Ryou, Yugi and Yami climbing down the stairs to the basement.

Ryou didn't answer to the accuse, just lowered the plates in front of his yami. Yugi and Yami hovered right behind him.

Yugi had a little smile on his face and he seemed totally calm. That was one of the great things about Yugi, his smile and calmness, which were both very hard to break.

Yami was almost solely focusing to keep himself solid. He wasn't going to show this weakness to Bakura, not yet anyway, no matter how foolish that sounded, even in his own ears. Yami was unenthusiastic to begin a conversation, which would start with the words: 'Hey, Bakura! Can I ask you a favor?' Well, he knew the answer to that one: no, definitely NO! But he needed to try. All he needed was an opening. So Yami stood beside Yugi and waited.

Bakura snatched the plate from the floor and started eating from it with that feral way of his.

"Where's your Ring, Ryou?" Bakura asked after a while pointing towards Ryou's empty chest.

"I left it upstairs," Ryou answered.

"You're not getting it in your filthy hands, tomb robber," Yami said, receiving three glares, for that comment. Two of them were warning and the last one was plain angry. But after giving that one glare Bakura ignored Yami completely, and continued eating.

Yugi turned to smile at Bakura again, and Ryou raised his eyebrow to Yami, silently asking him: 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Yami shrugged back at Ryou, indicating that he couldn't help it. Ryou rolled his eyes in a matter that said: 'Whatever'. Then he turned to look at Bakura as well.

The other yami had already finished his meal. He put the plate down. It let out a loud sound as it hit the floor, but it didn't break. Bakura looked at them, waiting for something to happen.

"We should change your bandages," Ryou suggested after a long pause.

Bakura tilted his head.

"I think I'm fine," he said, meaning that if Ryou tried to tough him, he would break his arm.

"Okay," Ryou nodded, catching the hint and not pushing the matter any further.

Bakura stared blankly past Ryou, a bored look on his face.

Yugi nudged Yami, saying that he should 'go for it', because 'now's your change.' Yami shook his head. 'No way.' 'What?' Yugi asked silently, with a look of surprise on his face. Yami shook his head again. Yugi gave him a 'I can't believe you'-look. Yami just shrugged.

Bakura was still deep in thought. Nobody moved, until he spoke again.

"You have some business with me. I wasn't brought back for nothing, correct?"

Ryou nodded. Bakura continued:

"And since Ryou said that he didn't need me for anything. Then it would be logical if Yami would be my next guess. Am I right?"

Bakura stared at Yami. Yami sifted his position uncomfortably, before nodding slowly.

"And what makes you think that I will help you?" Bakura asked, his voice full of scorn.

Yami shrugged.

"I brought you back?" He offered

"You put me there in the first place. I own nothing to my captor."

"Well you're not there anymore."

"Yes, instead I'm locked in here. What a wonderful thing freedom truly is" Bakura said, sarcastic. "At least, when I was back in that island, I got to enjoy the great outdoors. Now I don't have even that. Just walls, that keep me here, and not where I want to be."

"I think you're right. I can't force you to help me," Yami faked a sigh.

Bakura snorted

"If I were wise, I would save your sorry ass, and then get the hell out of here. But guess what pharaoh? I don't wanna, so I'm not doing it."

Bakura crossed his arms across his chest and didn't speak. Yami didn't speak either, he didn't know what to say. After a long and silent pause, Bakura opened his mouth and stated:

"You're selfish, pharaoh."

"What?" Yami asked.

"It's true. Only thing you think about is your own ass. Only difference between you and Yugi is that you're a selfish bastard, and he isn't."

Yugi smiled brightly, happy for the compliment, not realizing what it meant to Yami.

"Well then, I'm just few steps behind you tomb robber, aren't I?" Yami mocked, though he knew that the statement was a huge mistake as soon as it escaped his mouth.

Bakura's eyes darkened, and he clenched his fists. He was obviously trying to hold himself back, but soon came to a conclusion that this was totally worth any consequence that possibly could follow.

With a wild screech he jumped on Yami, hands wrapping around his throat, trying to strangle him. Yami tried to back away, but didn't manage to. He could feel the hands pressing his throat with a great, murderous force. Then...

Yami lost his focus.

Bakura slipped through him to the floor, letting out a confused sound. He jumped to his feet immediately, and turned to glare at Yami. His glare turned into a surprised look as he noticed the condition Yami was in, floating in front of him, as a spirit not in a body.

Yami could see how hundred different thoughts ran through Bakura's mind with a speed of light.

Bakura leaned against the wall and stared. Yami waited, full of fear, how the other yami would react.

His question was answered, when Bakura grinned, a wide unbelieving grin. A low chuckle escaped from his throat. Soon it turned into full laughter. Bakura leaned his forehead against the wall and laughed. He clutched his sides with his hands in pain, because the malicious laughter just wouldn't stop. He didn't care about the confused looks Yugi, Yami and Ryou gave him. He just laughed, 'cos that was the only thing he could do right now, and he wanted it.

After, what felt like forever to Yami, Bakura stopped laughing, because he couldn't breath anymore. He wiped away the tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes.

When Bakura had regained his composure, he turned to face Yami and the others with a perfectly calm, but forced, look on his face.

"Yes?" he asked politely, like nothing had happened.

"What's with the laughing?" Yami asked, scowling.

Bakura tried to answer, but he couldn't control himself anymore, so started laughing again. That little insane laugh of his.

* * *

Malik's sandals raised some dust from the ground. The dust whirled around his feet for a while, before it descended.

Malik's quick and careful steps let him through the narrow streets of this busy Egyptian bazaar. Malik ignored the commotion of locals and tourists. He ignored the shouts of the merchants, southed both in English and in Arabic, as they all tried to catch some naive tourists, possible customers, into their shops, to see just how cheap their prizes were. Few foolish tourists followed one man into his shop. Probably that man would get money enough to support him for a month, and those tourists would leave with their wallets empty and hands full of junk.

Malik kept his head low and rushed through another bunch of tourists and their guide, who was explaining something about bazaars and traditions and how much he loved those things. Malik mumbled an apology as he went. He made sure that the book, he was carrying, didn't slip from under his arm.

The book was heavy. An eye was drawn on the cover with golden paint. The eye stared blankly at everyone. It was quite unnerving actually. It was an eye you could see on ancient Egyptian wall paintings, and the book itself looked ancient too. Its cover was made of dark leather and its pages were yellowed with age. Malik turned around few corners, clearly knowing where he was going. He walked these streets almost everyday. Turn to the right and he was in front of block of white clean brick houses. These houses were owned by 'better people', as they were called. They where the people, who had money. Houses were separated from the other parts of the city with a wall. Wall had few gates in it, that were always guarded by some men.

Malik nodded to a man, who stood guarding the gate he entered, and mumbled few words in Arabic. Man greeted him back. Malik hurried to his house, unlocked the door and stepped in.

He put the book on the table near to the door and looked around, trying to find his yami.

Every time he went outside, and didn't want to take Marik with him, Malik would lock him up to the house, and make sure no one would come in. That's been his habit after Marik, unsupervised, almost accidentally burned a tourist alive. Even though Marik was locked up, that didn't mean he couldn't find himself something 'fun' to do. That usually involved knives, sharp knives and lots and lots of blood, not Marik's though. Like that one time when a burglar tried to break into their house, when Malik was away. Marik had been there, to the burglar's disappointment, though he really didn't had had much time to think about it before... Well let's just say that the blood was still on the mat.

"Marik!" Malik yelled, but no one answered his calls.

Malik began searching Marik around the house. He checked the bed room, which was empty, and so was their kitchen. He stopped near the living room door. Someone was laughing inside.

This couldn't be good.

Last time Malik came home and heard Marik laughing, Malik had found a skinned and very dead cat, which had lain on the floor. Marik had sat next to that thing, bloody knife and poor cat's heart in his hands. He had been giggling, and couldn't stop, until Malik punched him.

And it had been Malik, who had brought the cat, or it's remains, safely in a plastic bag to its owner.

That little girl, only seven, didn't dare to look at Malik even now.

Malik had a reason to be alarmed.

He leaned against the wall and prepared himself for blood, knives and everything that was gross, like organs, and skinned cats.

Malik peeked through the doorway. No blood, check. No knives, check. So far, so good.

Malik thought he was brave enough to sneak inside. What he saw was both amusing, and unusual.

Marik lay on the floor, laughing almost hysterical. He rolled around the room, slamming his fist now and then against the floor. His other hand held the phone against his chest, in sort of thankful and protecting manner.

His laughter was loud, malicious and not believing. That's all the aspects Malik could hear, though there were many more.

Tears of laughter were rolling down Marik's cheek. It looked like he wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

Malik raised his eyebrows at his yami. Marik didn't laugh, unless there were blood involved. Especially the phone made young hikari curious.

Malik walked next to his yami and waited, until Marik noticed him. Marik rolled over, so his head rested on Malik's bare feet, He gave hikari a sweet smile. The phone lay on his chest and his arm was still around it.

Malik answered Marik's smile with his own amused one. Then he helped him up.

Marik was tangled with the phone wire and his hair was messy and puffed up, because of all the rolling. That goofy smile was still glued on his face.

Malik poked the phone with his index finger.

"What's with this?" he asked.

Marik tried to answer, but instead he started laughing again, collapsing against Malik's shoulder.

Between bursts of laughter Malik caught the words:

"I can't. Believe this. We've got to go to Japan. I. Can't. Breathe. We've got to go to Japan!"

* * *

_A/N: There. When two out of three yamis laugh at you, you know you're screwed. Yami is stupid, feel free to punch him, if you want ^^_


	5. 6 Conversations and We're Getting Somewh

_A/N Happy Valentines Day! :) Or: Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!_

_Anyway, let's get into the business. An anonymous reader asked me when the Darkshipping is going to come in. And to be honest, not very soon. As you can see, at this point Yami and Bakura dislike each other, very very much, plus Yami is dying, so... Darkshipping is going to come in when the plot gives in. I'm not writing this because of the yaoi, but because of the plot, which I love, so please, be patient, and try to understand my reasons. If you can't read a fic that doesn't have yaoi in first five chapters, then sorry, I can't help. :D_

_Now that's done with. I would be glad, if I don't get reviews that say: 'I want some yaoi'. But of course review is always a review. Do what you want. But I will inform you when the darkshipping is going to kick in. You can count on that._

_Warnings: Lolz, something, I'm bored of this now :D_

_ (wow, 5th chapter O_o My titles just keep on getting longer :D)_

_Disclaimer: Nah._

_In honor of Valentines day, and because this is my 5th chapter, I dedicate this chapter to my friends and readers. (If you consider yourself both, feel special)  
_

* * *

**5. 6 Conversations and We're Getting Somewhere**

Days were passing by, extremely fast. Bakura had lived in Yugi's basement for almost a week now. Yami was slowly becoming desperate. He could feel how weak he was becoming, and to be honest, he wouldn't last very long. He felt so thin.

Yami tried shyly to talk with Bakura numerous times after that indigent in the basement. Yami never talked about the laughing though. It had freaked him out, and he didn't want to be left alone with Bakura, if the other yami started laughing again.

When talking to Bakura Yami noticed that Bakura was as unpredictable as ever. Sometimes he ignored Yami completely. Sometimes he just screamed at Yami, telling how much he hated him, and how happy he would be when Yami would finally drop dead. Sometimes he was rational and almost nice, dropping hints now and then, though most of the time Yami couldn't tell what was a hint and what was not, and that just confused him more. Sometimes, mostly in the nighttime, Bakura lost control, and started breaking things in the basement, much to Yugi's annoyance. There wasn't soon nothing unbroken in Mutou's basement, expect maybe the walls. Bakura sometimes still walked on four feet, instead of two. It was always subconscious; he only did it, if he didn't think about it. And it always crept Yami out.

Yami also took a notice of that he never saw Bakura sleeping. The other yami was always awake when he entered the basement and started climbing down the stairs.

Sometimes Ryou talked with Bakura too, but he never got anything useful out of his yami.

No matter how many times Ryou asked, Bakura refused to let Ryou change his bandages. He refused to be touched, claiming that he was fine. Which he was, at least when compared to the time when they brought him to the basement. Bakura was cleaner now, and acted more like a human. He had gained some weight too. But after being on a no food-diet for six months, few days didn't count much. He was still sickly thin, and it felt bad to look at him.

Bakura was slowly, but surely gaining his strength, and Yami knew that no lock could hold king of thieves inside, when he was in full strength.

Yami just had to try harder, right?

* * *

"So..." Bakura tilted his head and stared at Yami. He was sitting on the floor, his position little crouched and a curious look on his face. "Why didn't you ask Marik to help you? He is a yami too. Or am I just easier to handle?"

Yami, sitting on one of the wooden stairs, shrugged.

"I called him, or actually I tried to call Malik, but he answered," Yami told. "He said neither he nor Malik know what's going on. He said you know. Do you?"

Yami looked for any signs of knowledge in Bakura's face, only thing he saw was a glint of amusement in his eyes. Bakura just ignored Yami's question. He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

"That Marik... " Bakura said, his tone thankful. "God, I love that psycho. I owe him one."

"A big one, " Yami murmured, before deciding that this conversation was over and leaving.

Bakura laughed.

* * *

This was one of those times, that no matter what Yami said, Bakura ignored him and just stared into spaces, or at the wall, like he was doing now. And as minutes passed by Yami grew impatient, watching Bakura's crouched back.

"Could you even give me a sign that you heard what I just said?" he snapped.

Bakura's head turned slowly to face Yami. He seemed bored and tired, and like he really didn't care about, what Yami had just said.

"You know," Bakura said. " One thing I learned while I was on that island was patience."

"I can see that," Yami answered.

Before sealing away Bakura's patience had lasted for, what, three minutes? This was one of those times when Yami deeply regretted ever sending Bakura away, he did that a lot nowadays. But as always, Yami reminded himself that this whole dying thing had come as a total surprise, there haven't been a way to him to predict this, and at that time sending Bakura away seemed like a smart move. And it had worked, for about six months.

"Maybe you should learn to be patient too," Bakura sweetly suggested.

"I can't be patient! I'm dying!" Yami pulled his hair out in frustration.

Bakura gave him a long stare, unaffected by this outburst.

"I can see that," he said at last after another long pause. Then he turned to stare at the wall again.

"Aaargghhh!" Yami screamed.

He stomped outside. Bakura knew exactly how to annoy him. The named yami smirked in the darkness and continued his staring competition with the wall. He was winning.

* * *

"Please Bakura! I give you anything!" Yami pleaded.

Trying to outsmart Bakura to slip out his secrets had proven ineffective. But Yami wasn't going to give up now. So he tried a different approach. He begged.

"I ask nicely, I beg on my knees. I'll do anything!"

Bakura frowned. He refused to look at Yami.

"As much as I would love to see you on your knees... No deal, pharaoh," he said, and that was final.

Yami sighed. Well, at least he didn't need to beg anymore, since it wasn't clearly working.

"I don't get it," Bakura said.

"What?" Yami asked, confused.

"Why do you humiliate yourself, why don't you just use you magic and force the answer out of me?"

"That would be inhumane," Yami answered. "I didn't bring you back here to be tortured."

"So _now_ you're changing, " Bakura mocked. "Too late, pharaoh."

* * *

Sometimes, well quite often actually, the conversation of two yamis would turn into a fight. Those fights involved a lot of mocking, taunting, cursing and yelling, sometimes object throwing, form both sides of the fight. Sometimes Bakura would shut Yami up, and sometimes it would be Yami shutting Bakura up. And sometimes Yugi or Ryou would shut them both up. Either way, whoever stopped the fight it didn't matter. Their fights were never pretty to watch. They never was and never will be.

That's why Yugi kindly asked Yami not to pick fights with Bakura anymore, since they weren't getting anywhere like this.

"Bakura knows that too," Yami answered to Yugi's request. " He knows it, and he loves to annoy me, just so he has another excuse not to help me"

"Don't you think it's time to stop saying that everything is his fault?" Yugi asked. "He can't be guilty of everything."

"I'm not saying everything is his fault," Yami insisted.

Yugi gave him a look, which is given to a stubborn child.

"It seems like it to me," Yugi said.

Yami rolled his eyes.

"Don't let him get on your nerves," Yugi advised, with a bright smile.

* * *

Yami waved his hands in anger.

"What do you want me to do?!" he asked. " Scream at you and tell how much I hate you?!"

"Well that's the truth, isn't it?!" Bakura screamed back. "Feel free to hate me, that's what I'm here for!"

"Don't play the victim this time!" Yami warned.

"But that's what I am!"

"Really mature, tomb robber, really mature!"

"So I'm the child now?!" Bakura asked. "Well what if we both stop acting like spoiled kids, and shut the fuck up!!!"

Yami didn't say another word after that comment.

* * *

Yami was sitting on one of the stairs once again. He leaned his chin against his hand and watched Bakura. Leaning against the wall, across the room was Bakura, playing with a piece of wood. God only knows from where he had got that.

Yami sighed and closed his eyes, tired. This constant bickering and screaming wore him out. And he was out of ideas too. Guess he really doesn't get anything out of Bakura.

"I know you don't want to help me," Yami murmured. "And you have a reason too. A good one. If I were to I wouldn't help myself either."

A long silent pause followed this statement.

"Does this mean you're giving up?" Bakura asked finally, still playing with that piece of wood. "This doesn't sound like you at all, pharaoh."

Could it be that Bakura, one of the most competitive persons Yami knew, was disappointed because of this easy victory? Yami really didn't think much about it.

"I'm so tired," he said. " Go ahead, scream at me, tell me why exactly you don't want to help me. I want to hear it from you, even once."

"You can't do it," Bakura said. "That's a reason good enough for me, plus the fact that I hate you."

Yami's eyes shot open.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No matter what I say, no matter what you try to do, you can't do it. You're a dead man, pharaoh."

"Tell me what I can't do?" Yami asked, new hope rising its pretty head in his mind.

"It doesn't change anything," Bakura said indifferently.

Yami stood up and slowly approached Bakura.

"So it really doesn't matter, whether you tell it me or not?"

Bakura shrugged, staring at the piece of wood in his hands.

"I guess not."

"So..?" Yami tilted his head, trying to see Bakura's face clearly.

"What do you think is wrong with you?" Bakura asked.

"Well..." Yami stammered, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "I thought, that maybe it has something to do with the Shadow Magic... Or something."

Bakura sniggered.

"Shadow Magic is trying to keep you alive. It seems you really don't get it."

"So what is it?" Yami demanded.

"Balance. It's all about balance really, " Bakura said with a straight face

Yami raised his eyebrow.

"Balance?"

"Sometimes your stupidity amazes me, pharaoh," Bakura smirked. "Balance," he repeated. Then he was deep in thought for a long time, thinking of what he should say, and what he should not, before he started speaking again. Yami held his gaze on Bakura.

"We aren't whole," Bakura said. "We are half of one soul, our hikaris are the other half. The balance between hikari and yami must stay. Ryou is the good part of our soul, but against the little darkness in his soul is little light in my soul. We balance each other. There can't be two hikaris in one soul..." Bakura was silent for a while. "I guess sealing me away kept you alive for six months."

"Are you saying that I'm dying because I'm good?" Yami asked in disbelief.

"You're dying because yours and Yugi's soul is off balance. Someone has to be the darkness."

"Well, why I'm the one dying and not Yugi?"

"Wouldn't you like that..." Bakura murmured, before clearing his throat, and speaking: " Because you are attached to Yugi and not the other way around. He is the original one."

"You know a lot for a person who doesn't know how to read," Yami said.

"Don't make fun of me," Bakura warned, saying that this conversation could be easily turned into one of those fights Yami was so tired of.

"Sorry," Yami apologized quickly. "And what is the thing I can't do to stop this?"

"You have two options."

Bakura held up two fingers.

"One. You balance your soul by turning Yugi into a 'bad guy', fast."

One finger was put down.

"Impossible," Yami said. "Maybe if I had something like three years...."

"Which you don't have. So its impossible to you, just like I thought. Well, you always have your second option. You turn yourself back into the 'bad guy' you were, fast, by, I don't know, killing someone?"

"Like someone human?" Yami asked in shock.

Bakura nodded.

"That's sick!" Yami yelled. " I can't do that. You're insane."

"Just a little crazy, "Bakura assured. "and right. As I said it didn't change anything, though now you know what you should do."

He put the piece of wood down, stood up and walked through Yami, who just stared blankly forward and didn't utter a word.

"Think about it," Bakura said chuckling darkly and disappearing into shadows.

* * *

"So did he say anything new?" Yugi asked, when exhausted Yami opened the basement door.

"Any clues? Ryou continued.

Yami shut the door and shook his head.

"No, nothing."

* * *

_A/N: I luv 'ya all! :3_


	6. Fair Game

_A/N: Hello there! I really don't have anything to say. This chapter was fun to write! ^^I wrote this and listened to PotF, so here you have it. *starts singing and dancing* And I finally came up with a short chapter name! Yay!  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't wanna do these anymore, but no, not owning._

_Warnings: Dark themes ^^' I guess..._

_For some reason I feel very confused right now. :D  
_

_

* * *

_**6. Fair Game**

Bakura sat in the darkest corner of the room, leaning his chin against the cold wall. Unwillingly he shivered. It was chilly down here, especially near the walls. They felt like ice, but Bakura refused to move. He observed the room from under his half lidded eyes.

The calming darkness wrapped itself around his body. Bakura let his hands lay on his legs as he watched how shadows in the room slowly melted together, creating bigger ones. Sun was setting and all light was disappearing from the room. Bakura slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. Interesting, how every time there seemed to be less and less that annoying light.

Bakura yawned and stretched his arms. He almost heard how his muscles stated their oppose. Being sealed away for six months did not do good to his frame. But in few days Bakura could easily pick that lock and get the hell out of here, he mused as he let his arms drop numbly back to his sides. Unless, of course, something happened. And after getting away Ryou would probably try to find him. Ryou thought that they had things yet to be settled. Bakura just wanted things to be like they were. He preferred to keep their relationship not-so-close, because when your close to someone it's harder to keep the balance, just look at Yami. Oh, and something about that kid annoyed him.

Bakura's breathing was slow and almost completely silent. He was sinking into a half-sleeping state, where he was awake, but not really there. He had learned to do this during his stay in the island. He used it as the substitute to sleep. This state wasn't really sleeping and it could never replace it.

Bakura stared into nothingness as the shadows grew larger, consuming every drop of light in the room.

Someone opened the basement door. Bakura heard small creak that the stairs made, when someone stepped on them. That someone started climbing down the stairs in complete silence.

Who might it be? Bakura thought lazily, not bothering to raise his gaze. He already knew who the visitor was. It really didn't take a genius.

Wonder, what might he want this time?

The person stopped when his feet toughed the basement floor. He started looking for Bakura. The darkness, like a warm blanket, hid the yami from the visitor. Can that someone find him, if he doesn't move? Bakura mused. Person standing across the room wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Well if he wanted to talk with Bakura, why didn't he bring a flashlight? Bakura thought bitterly, eyes still not focusing to anything. Bakura heard a rustle of clothes as the person started moving towards him.

So now he saw him?

Bakura's gaze didn't quiver, neither did he move when the figure stopped beside him. Figure's breathing was heavy and so loud, that it was almost annoying, at least compared to the silence that emitted from basement and Bakura.

From the corner of his eyes Bakura could see how the person stretched his hand out, holding an object in it. After a brief pause he let the object drop until its chain stopped its fall. A glint of gold caught Bakura's eye.

"Help me," Yami said with a blunt voice.

A mischievous grin spread across Bakura's face as he turned to put his thin fingers around the cold metal of the Millennium Ring.

* * *

Yami floated near the ceiling. It seemed like his eyes were staring deeply at the ceiling panels, but in reality Yami was deep in thought.

So all he had to do is kill someone, and he's immediately a bad guy, balance is back, and he's alive? Well then how easy was that? When Bakura had laughed at him, Yami had thought it would be something impossible, or something that in order to do it he needed directly help from other yamis. But killing, killing was easy. Yami closed his eyes. Really he could crack someones neck with only a thought, Shadow Magic took care of the rest. Did Shadow Magic have some kind of a limitation? Yami pondered. Like did he need to see this guy, who he was killing? Well, he could figure that out later.

Now who he would kill...

Yami's eyes shot open. What the hell was he thinking? Killing people with Shadow Magic? What would Yugi say? Yami could imagine the disappointed look in Yugi's eyes, if he ever found out. That's why Yami had lied, he didn't want to upset his hikari.

Now what he was thinking now? Keeping hikari happy? He was darkness. He wasn't supposed to be nice to his hikari, maybe.

He was darkness and being darkness apparently meant killing people, if there was any believing in Bakura. Yami shook his head. Bakura was right. He may be many things, like downright psycho, and he might do many things, but Bakura did not lie.

So Yami had to kill someone. He had no choice, apparently. Yami bit his lip. Maybe if he killed someone who deserved it... But how the he could get his hands on a criminal of some sort? Bakura probably knew some evil-doers, drug dealers or murderers...

NO!

Yami wasn't going to involve Bakura in this.

So maybe someone nobody needed? Yami discarded this thought soon, Yugi had said that every single human being was important, and needed.

Wow, this was harder than Yami had thought.

Someone who wanted to die? There were people like that too. But would it be evil to kill someone willing to die?

Think like Bakura, think like Bakura, Yami repeated to himself again and again. Seriously, how long would that keep him alive?

And no matter what Bakura said there was always _that_ option. Send Bakura back, be evil, possibly happy for a while, and then what? Be alive for six months. Then go to that island, get Bakura back and send him back again. Yugi and Ryou would not let Yami do that... Damn hikaris.

Yami wanted a permanent solution. And was killing someone that? Yami wasn't sure. Bakura hadn't said all, that kind of a feeling Yami got.

He rolled around in mid-air and sighed.

What if he just went outside and killed the first person he'd see with Shadow Magic? That can't be so hard. One spell and_ tadaah_, we have a body.

'So now you're killing a guy just to save your own ass?' asked a mocking voice in the back of Yami's head.

"Guess I'm really selfish," he mused, not really meaning it, because Yami was that kind of a person who would never admit being selfish.

Yami floated down from the ceiling. He needed fresh air, and time. But since he didn't have time, some air just had to do.

When he was downstairs, Yami looked around him. Luckily, Yugi and Ryou were nowhere to be seen. Yami really didn't want to talk to them.

Yami was just pulling his jacket on when he spotted the Millennium Ring on the nearby table. Yami raised his eyebrows at the object.

Yes, he needed fresh air.

Yami stepped closer to the table.

But he could use some company, and clarification, as well.

Yami took the Ring.

Let's ask about killing from someone who knows everything about it.

* * *

"Can't you do anything with out me?" Bakura asked and sipped his coffee.

"Can't you just say no?" Yami remarked.

"But this is so interesting," Bakura admitted. "And if you happen to die, I would love to get that pretty necklace of yours." Bakura pointed at Millennium Puzzle, hanging from Yami's neck, as usual.

After giving Bakura the Ring and making sure that their hikaris were asleep, they had headed outside, Bakura running the stairs up on four feet and Yami silently following. Yami couldn't help but to doubt, was this really such a good idea. Anything involving Bakura was never a good, not even an average idea. Honestly, Yami had thought that Bakura would flee, as soon as Yami had closed the front door behind them. Bakura had just yawned and stretched, inhaling the cool spring air, and enjoying it. Then he had turned to face Yami and asked where he wanted to go.

Yami silently thanked gods for making Bakura such a unpredictable person.

They had found a nice coffee house, that was open round-the-clock. The place was almost empty, because of the late hour. Yami and Bakura had sat to the table in the far way corner of the place. Bakura had ordered coffee, black. The waitress, overweighted and underpaid, hadn't noticed Yami. Thank you very much, spirit-form.

Yami sighed and stared longingly at the steaming cup of coffee, that Bakura wasn't willing to share.

"Interesting," Bakura hummed.

"Is killing people interesting?" Yami asked.

"You tell me, " Bakura smiled. " It's not like you haven't killed before... Hmm, as a Pharaoh you probably sentenced a lot of criminals to get their heads chopped off."

"Maybe," Yami shrugged.

"And what if Nile didn't flood? Was it because the son of Ra hadn't done his duties? Many people died of starvation then."

"I hope you do know that I really didn't make the Nile flood," Yami said.

"...Confusing," Bakura thought. "Well, let's just say as a leader of a Egypt, you probably killed indirectly a bunch of people, because of wrong decisions, and because you eventually had to, like every other leader in the world. And that makes you a bad person."

"You can think it like that," Yami admitted sifting his position uncomfortably.

"So then who you want to kill?" Bakura asked with a sweet smile, as he once again brought the coffeecup to his lips.

"I really don't know," Yami sighed.

"What about that girlfriend of yours? She annoys the hell out of me."

"Anzu? She's not my girlfriend, and I'm not killing her."

"Pity," Bakura sighed. "Then what about that rich what's-his-name-again, you know the one who always challenges you to a duel. I would love to see how his little brother would handle all that money."

A dreamy grin appeared on Bakura's face.

Yami sighed and slammed his hand on his forehead. Here he was; talking about killing Kaiba with a psycho, who was happy only when blood was involved, in an empty coffeehouse, and it was just past midnight. Hello new day, another awesome one!

"I'm not killing Kaiba," Yami said briefly.

"Aww..." Bakura pouted. "Well then what if..."

"What if I just kill Ryou?!" Yami snapped slamming his hands on the table.

Bakura seemed a little startled.

"Ok I get it, you don't want to kill your 'friends'. I'm afraid I can't let you kill Ryou either, for he is my soul half."

"So what do you suggest?" Yami questioned. "You're the expert here."

Bakura shrugged.

"Go outside, pick a random passerby, follow him home and kill him."

"And that solves all my problems?" Yami asked doubtful.

Bakura gave him a dumb look.

"I mean when I kill this guy I never have to worry about dying anymore?"

Bakura grinned like a madman.

"You know, a person who kills only once, well really that kind of a person doesn't exist. Those who have killed only once has got caught. One kill and you become an addict. It's like drugs, or this stuff," Bakura pointed at his coffee. "It's only easier, one kill a year should be enough to settle the blood lust. Soon you grow accustomed to it." Bakura sighed in content and closed his eyes. "Scent of the blood. The horror in their eyes, when you approach them. Blaming betrayed eyes, when they die. How fast the body turns cold. Nothing tastes better than human blood. Nothing sounds better than a sound of bones breaking and seeing they drew their last breaths. Hear the last beats of their heart. And then, nothing. The scent of blood fades. The red marks can be washed away, and when they're gone, you want to feel them again. Feel the killing."

Mere thought made Bakura shiver in delight. He opened his eyes and tilted his head. With a sweet but crazy smile he asked:

"Where were we?"

"You were saying that all I have to do is kill someone with Shadow Magic and all my worries will be gone because I'll become addicted to killing?" Yami suggested.

Bakura blinked and raised his coffeecup.

"Shadow Magic?" he asked, confused, sipping coffee from his cup. "Who said anything about Shadow Magic?"

"I can't use it?!" Yami shrieked.

"Now now my dear Pharaoh, " Bakura soothed him. "That would be cheating. Fair game, always, a fair game. Killing with Shadow Magic, pfft..." Bakura let out a strange little noise of disapproval. "At least give your prey a change. Plus it's much more fun then. He can run away, or fight back, and you might get caught. It's all add to the thrill."

"So no Shadow Magic, because it's cheating," Yami repeated. " And pray tell how many of your victims have escaped, Tomb Robber?"

"None," Bakura grinned. "I'm just that good."

They both remained silent for a while after that comment.

"I usually prefer knives," Bakura told. "These guns they have nowadays, they are just no fun. You loose the feeling of killing, when using guns. And you can get more blood out of a person using knife... Yup, knives are better."

Bakura nodded firmly to himself. After finishing the coffee he lowered the cup. The sound that the cup made as it hit the dirty table woke Yami up. He had been lost in his thoughts just a second ago. Bakura stood up and smiled at him happily, like a little boy, who just got a new toy from his father.

"Guess what Pharaoh? All this talking about killing makes me really want to kill someone. Come with me, I think you need a lesson in killing."

* * *

_A/N: I can't wait to write the next chapter. :D_


	7. Lessons in Killing

_A/N: Few things. OMG I got my 50th review for this story today! I never thought this could be so popular, and therefore I want to thank everybody who have reviewed my story. You make me smile, I luv 'ya. :D Also this story had 666 hits. Call it coincidence, but I call it a sign. No I'm not going to convert Satanism, just saying._

_This chapter was kinda hard, because it was my first time killing people. I am such a twisted person that I mostly enjoyed writing this, though I hate violence, and I can't possibly kill anyone in real life. In the summer when I accidentally killed a bug (it flew to my face) I actually stopped and apologized to that poor bug. But on the other hand when in Biology we studied pig's bone, I was the first person pocking it. :D_

_Disclaimer: Naw :3 (My disclaimers are short...)  
_

_Warnings, darling warnings: Even though I don't think I'm that good writing about dead people, please if you feel offended by blood, do not read the killing part. I beg you, don't._

_This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers but especially to my 50th reviewer: AnimeLoverAngel. Here you go honey._

_

* * *

_**7. Lessons in killing**

"Wait!" Yami screamed floating after Bakura. Through the door, if I may add, though he didn't right now care. "Are you saying you're going to kill someone just like that?"

Bakura turned to face Yami.

"Yup," he breathed out a little whistling tone.

Yami blinked.

It was really chilly out here, even though the summer was just around the corner. Yami didn't worry about himself, he wore a warm jacket, but Bakura... Bakura wore only t-shirt, jeans and Ryou's shoes he had stolen from Mutou's hallway, no socks. Still the other yami didn't seem to mind. He didn't shiver even when an unusually cold breeze caught them. Bakura just turned and started walking again. Yami floated beside him.

"What about weapon?" he asked. "You need a weapon to kill."

"Is this your way to talk me out of this?" Bakura asked raising his eyebrows. " I do know few different ways to kill human with bare hands, but as I said before I prefer knives. They are harder to track."

"And sharp," Yami sighed.

"So I need a knife. And what I need I get," Bakura told. "What I do not get I obviously do not need."

"Like my puzzle?" Yami asked sarcastically.

Bakura didn't answer, just turned around the corner. He seemed like he knew where he was going. But this was Bakura, he always looked like he knew. The way he walked, the way he kept his head up high, no matter what. He always seemed to know where he was, where he was going. He was always confident, always proud.

After walking like for ten minutes Bakura stopped in front of a door. It was small one, obviously a back door of some place. Bakura knocked on it.

Soon the door was opened by a woman. She had short blonde hair, and dark blue eyes. A cigarette was placed between her lips. She seemed tired and weary, though she was very young, not more than 25. When she saw Bakura her face immediately brightened.

"Bloodlily!" she exclaimed in joy. " I haven't seen you in centuries! Everybody thought they got you."

Bakura tilted his head, and smirked

"They got me? Don't be ridiculous Violet. They don't have a clue who I really am."

"Where were you then?" asked Violet, flicking his cigarette.

Yami wanted to hear that answer too. Would Bakura lie or not answer?

"Me?" Bakura said. "Daddy said I was too fat and send me to a camp."

Yami raised his eyebrows. Some kind of a code language? Bakura didn't have a dad anymore, as far as Yami knew. Violet just measured Bakura from head to toes, not doubting what Bakura said even for a second.

"You do look thinner," she admitted. "Well then Bloodlily what do you want?"

"Violet dear," Bakura clicked his tongue. "What would I want?"

Violet just smiled.

"Of course just a minute."

Then she turned around and disappeared into the house.

"Bloodlily?" Yami asked, amused. "Why Bloodlily?"

"They call me that, because I'm not like them," Bakura told. "I don't take drugs. Bloodlily, 'cause blood is my drug."

"They, who are they?"

"Violet and the others," Bakura answered shortly.

"How do you know them?" Yami pressed.

Bakura shrugged nonchalantly, staring at the door, with great impatience, and biting his lower lip. Soon the door was opened and Violet handed him knives. There were three of them. Each one had a blade of different size. The smallest was nothing but a mere pocketknife, with a blade about 5 cm long, and the longest had a blade longer than 20 cm. The handles were made of plain wood.

Bakura balanced one of the knives on his finger. Immediately some blood appeared on his pale skin, dripping from under the blade. Bakura removed the knife and gave a nod of approval.

"These will do," he said and put the knives away, licking the blood away from his fingertip.

Violet nodded and smiled.

"You should try the streets near the bridge," She advised. "The place where old Herrington used to hang out. You might have luck there."

"Ok thanks, Violet."

Bakura walked away, taking every turn from memory. Yami, like a loyal ghost, who had someone to haunt, followed him. Violet dropped her finished cigarette to the ground and shut the door behind her.

* * *

After like 100 turns Bakura finally stopped. To Yami this street looked like every other they just walked. Narrow and dark. That kind of a street you don't walk after nightfall. But that was just what Bakura and Yami were doing.

Bakura closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Yami followed his every movement curiously, thinking what Bakura tried to do.

After few minutes Bakura opened his eyes and started walking again.

In what point had Bakura turned into Ryou? Yami couldn't help but wonder. His steps, his posture, everything was Ryou. The lion had turned into a lamb.

Bakura indeed was a great actor. He had watched his hikari, probably without Ryou even knowing, and learned everything from him. Now he pulled on a mask and _was_ his hikari.

Bakura seemed no longer confident, no longer proud. Now he was confused, lost and a little afraid, because he had to walk these streets in this hour. All this he did without changing his speed. Bakura didn't hurry. Only bad actors hurried on stage. And the stage was all Bakura's.

Yami of course followed.

"What are you doing?" he asked, not understanding the point of this change.

Bakura stopped and flashed a nervous half-Bakura half-Ryou smile to Yami.

"Hunting," he mouthed silently.

Yami nodded.

It didn't take long before a perfect victim appeared. A man emerged from the shadows blocking Bakura's path. The man was tall, middle-aged, dirty, everything in him indicated to some kind of a problem with either drugs, alcohol or women. Little nervously Bakura took few steps backwards, still like Ryou. Yami truly admired his skills.

"Why would a pretty boy like you be out here in these hours?" The man asked, his voice low and raspy.

Bakura shook his head silently, and tried to hide his face behind his white locks, much like Ryou would do, or at least that's how Yami imagined it.

"What if I help you, darling?" Man asked and grinned, taking a step towards Bakura.

Yami hated people like this. He was happy that this was really Bakura and not Ryou, 'cos nobody knew what the man could do if he face someone who couldn't defend himself. Well, actually Yami knew exactly what the man would do, if he ever met Ryou. The lust in the man's eyes told everything.

The man took another step. This time Bakura didn't back away. Instead he smirked. A grin so mad and sudden it startled the man. Bakura's eyes too were suddenly darkened with lust. Lust for life, lust for blood. The mask was ripped away, and the real Bakura crawled from inside Ryou.

The man hesitated. This was new to him. To his knowledge young girlish thin boys didn't smirk like they were just going to chop someones head off.

Bakura pulled out two knives and still smirking, attacked.

Yami watched. At first without feeling. Then came fear, disgust, everything that made him feel weak. But still Yami didn't look away and hated himself for watching. Killing, it was something private, between two people, the killer and the victim. The act of killing did not need viewers. Yami decided. This was not what he wanted. He did not want to loose control over his blood lust. Yami still watched and he learned. This was his lesson in killing, that Bakura so generously had promised him. He learned as the screams of fear and pain were forced out of the victim's throat. They flowed to the air, alongside the blood.

The blood, it was everywhere, dark and tight. The blood taught Yami.

It taught that Bakura loved to play with his victims. Give them escape routes, then close in front of their nose. Bakura loved to torment, whisper promises into their ears. False promises. When it came to killing, Bakura gave no mercy. Bakura loved to play. That's why he was the psychotic one.

Yami however did to want to play. He didn't want to hold someones life in his hands, like some kind of a god. True, once he had been a semi-god to the people of Egypt. But playing with lives, no!

Yami closed his eyes in disgust, when the screams got in whole new level.

Then he could hear them.

_Thump, thump, thump._

The man's heartbeat. Maybe Yami was going crazy, more crazy than he was right now feeling. Or maybe Shadow Magic amplified the sound, maybe it came from his puzzle. Yami wanted to throw the Puzzle away. He would do anything to make them stop.

_Thump, thump, thump._

That horrible, tormenting sound. Sad sound, sad sound. Yami blocked his ear, but the sound of heartbeats didn't go away, until...

_crack!_

Something hit the wall with great force. _Nothing sounds better than a sound of bones cracking._ Yami hate that sound. That sounded like a large egg broken against the fryingpan's edge. But this time it wasn't definitely an egg, and that made all the difference. It was a human skull.

_Thump, th-_

_Hear the last beats of their heart_. But they were gone. _And then nothing._

How fast the body turns cold?

Yami counted slowly to ten and opened his eyes. What he saw made he want to throw up.

The man, the body, the corpse, the thing.

What told Yami that Bakura had enjoyed this? Done this on purpose? The symmetrical wounds. The almost artistic matter how the body have been placed. The man laid almost peacefully on the cold street, like he was in a coffin, waiting to be buried. His hands laid next to his sides. The palms were open and facing the sky.

Half of his left arm was cut away. The skin and the muscle, starting from his wrist and ending to his shoulder. The bone and it surroundings was cleaned very accurately. The 'extra' part had disappeared, and Yami didn't want to know where it was.

The knife had went through man's right palm, and from there it had been pulled up to his shoulder, leaving a deep bloody gorge in the flesh.

Two deep cuts split both of his thighs. From under his knee the legs were nothing but blood, bones and shred of muscles, like he had cone through a shredder. This had been done just so he couldn't escape, but only after his shoes had been removed. They were placed neatly next to the corpse.

Bakura had removed all flesh around man's ribs. The man looked thin now. Yami thought that this Bakura may had done because of his own thinness. But it wasn't a clear solution to lose weight. When that flesh was off everything kind a came out. The blood trickled from between the ribs.

The man's bellybutton was cut of. In a way, Yami thought, Bakura had uncorked his victim, like one may uncork a bottle of champagne. Yami was glad Violet didn't give Bakura a corkscrew. He could do enough damage with only three knives..

The back of man's skull had been smashed into pieces. Something grey and something red spread to the street.

The man's face was completely devastated. His nose had been split up with one fierce hit. His ears were cut into shreds and glued with blood to the sides of his head. His eyes had been popped and now only bloody caves cast their gaze upon the heaven praying for mercy. A trail of blood had been drawn down man's cheek. To Yami it looked like the man was crying.

Humans are afraid of dark. Now locked in the darkness, the man's bloody eyes cried for light. Yami really hoped that man got where he wanted, to Heaven, or somewhere warmer.

There, beside the corpse stood the creepiest one, Bakura. His eyes were totally calm, his attitude was totally calm. Soaking in blood and knives in his hands, he still seemed to say 'I didn't do it. What a pity, that things like these happen, but that's how the world is today..'

His blood lust was settled.

Carefully keeping his eyes on the body, so he would not trip, Bakura stepped over it and walked next to silent Yami.

With a fast movement of his wrist he turned the knife in his hand, so it's blade leaned lightly against Bakura's bloody palm and the handle, covered in red fingerprints pointed towards Yami.

"Your turn," Bakura said.

Weakly Yami reached out for the knife. The handle was warm.

* * *

_A/N I feel this weird tingly feeling in my left arm, maybe that poor man is haunting me. D: Anyway, I'm going to sleepover to my friend's house, so I can't answer to your reviews until tomorrow night (My timezone, people)_


	8. Pretty Face and a Heart to Stab

_A/N: This is ready. i have really nothing much to say about this, expect that I would have put this up earlier, but for some reason didn't let me log in. A lot of things happening in this chapter, try not to get too confused. :D  
_

_Disclaimer: Meh, not owns dah Yu-gi-oh._

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* * *

_**8. Pretty Face and a Heart to Stab**

Yami stared at the knife in his hands. Its blade shined dimly under all the blood covering it. What Yami found odd, and kinda scary too, was that after a coldblooded murder the handle was still warm. Yami closed his own cold hand around the handle. A determined look crossed his face. Bakura stood beside Yami, studying him with his keen eyes.

"Are we ready?" Bakura asked. "Usually people, who are clever don't hang around in a killing scene, especially if they did it."

Yami raised his gaze and nodded slowly. Bakura smiled, but the smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. He passed the corpse, not giving it a second look. This time Yami floated beside him, not behind him, as they left the corpse behind to be found by someone, sometime, hopefully not soon.

Then they just wandered.

Two figures knives in their hands, other soaking in blood, other almost transparent, both silent, trying to find a corpse, or actually turn someone into one.

What if someone saw them now, Yami wondered. The poor person would think that he was seeing ghosts. Well, that person would be not so far away from the truth. They were spirits. Used to. Well Bakura used to, but Yami was still. Everybody could see through him, so that meant he must be a ghost, If he didn't hold the knife nobody couldn't see him. Yup, definitely a ghost. Bakura was kinda ghostly too, drying blood shining in his white hair, pale and thin. If he wasn't a ghost... Well he definitely wasn't a normal person either.

But nobody saw them. Yami thanked every god he knew for watching his back, and he knew a lot. They had wandered to the areas that were farther from the center of the city. Here the houses were smaller and more cozy. Without a word Bakura pointed at one of the houses, that he thought was a good one. Yami nodded and they silently crossed the road to the house. Immediately Bakura started picking the lock of the door, and Yami stood behind him watching around for passersby.

Of course Yami could just go through the door, like a real ghost. But he really didn't want to, his knife would stay outside and Bakura couldn't go through doors. Yami felt that it would be better if Bakura was with him. Yami didn't know why. Bakura wasn't there for Yami. He was just curious and would love to see Yami struggling and in the end dying just as much as he would love to see him kill someone. Maybe Yami thought that if Bakura was there with him, he could really do it. And maybe Bakura deserved to be there, if he wanted to, and he clearly did. Bakura, after all, was a such-kind of psycho who enjoyed everything blood, from killing to random nose bleeding.

The lock of the door clicked open and two ghost-like creatures enters.

Yami knew and so did Bakura that Yami couldn't kill outside. Indoor was a great place for beginners.

In the warmth and darkness of the house, after closing the door, Bakura pointed at the stairs and Yami nodded. He understood. It was his turn to go first and Bakura's to follow. Yami went the stairs up first, squeezing the knife in his hand and Bakura followed, silent as a ghost, he wasn't.

Yami looked around in pitch black upstairs. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness. Now, which one of the rooms was the bedroom? There were three doors Yami could see. One had to be bathroom, and the other two bedrooms then, maybe.

Yami tried the first door, in his right side, and bingo!

A bedroom, neatly furnished, was the sight opening in front of Yami.

And on the bed, far away form the door, laid his victim. A woman. No, a girl. At least that's how Yami thought. Everybody compared to him were nothing but mere kids, expect Bakura. Yami could fell a guilty piece stuck in his throat as he watched the sleeping lump. He swallowed painfully, but entered the room, Bakura right behind him. Bakura positioned himself to the farthest corner from the bed he could. He put his knives away and motioned Yami to get closer to the girl.

Yami still holding his knife, in a matter that made him look like he was really going to stab somebody, did what he was told to. He stopped breathing and crept closer.

The girl or the woman, which way you want to put it seemed like 25-year-old. Her hair was dark, probably brown. She wasn't really beautiful, but you could call her pretty. She was peacefully asleep. She was a victim, Yami's victim.

Yami didn't stab the girl, not yet. He stood frozen still, and pondered.

What was this girl?

She had a name, background, family, friends, possible lover, a life. But it meant nothing to Yami, it shouldn't. To Yami she shouldn't be nothing more than a pretty face and a heart to stab. Nothing less, nothing more. She was here to die. She should die, so Yami could save his selfish ass, right?

Yami had never believed in destiny. That some god just said when you should lay down and die. So why should this girl just wait and die? Yami didn't believe he had been destined to live forever, that gods up somewhere just forgot to set a day for his death. So why shouldn't he live then? Yami had never questioned it, it just was. He was going to live forever and that's it. Yami had never cursed it, never before did he need to do anything for it, until now...

He needed...

He needed to know something. That girl shouldn't be just a pretty face and a heart to stab.

Yami turned to face Bakura who was waiting in the dark.

"I want to see her eyes," Yami demanded.

Bakura raised his eyebrows.

"I want to see her eyes," Yami repeated, his voice nothing more than a hiss.

Bakura nodded and walked next to the sleeping girl.

To Yami it seemed like Bakura understood. Maybe he had gone through all the same things, all the same feelings. To Yami's knowledge Bakura had killed back in ancient Egypt. But when was his first kill, that Yami did not know.

Bakura stood in the other side of the bed than Yami, the side which was farther away from the door. He examined the girl's face, completely expressionless. Yami did not know what Bakura was looking for, but soon Bakura held out his hand few inches off girl's face. The matter he did it made it look like the other yami was watching an already lifeless body, not really knowing who she was but being polite enough to look a little sad. Then Bakura slammed his hand on girl's mouth.

As soon as the bloody skin touched her lips, the girl's eyes shot open, but she was smart enough and tried not to scream. Yami could see how girl's small pupils were not focused into anything, her heart pounding in her chest loudly, as she took a deep calming breath, and then another. When regaining enough composure she tilted her head a little so she could see Bakura.

Yami couldn't even start to think what it felt like to wake up someones hand on your mouth, when you could smell the blood, you could taste it.

But she understood. She didn't scream, didn't try to struggle. She knew what was the punishment for that. She was more mature than she looked like.

Gently Bakura put his hand to the both sides of her head and turned it, so instead of him she faced Yami, her future killer.

Woman's eyes widened, when she saw Yami, or through him. But she didn't move.

Bakura took his hands away and retreated into the shadows.

Yami, his cold hand holding the knife, so she could see it too, looked into her eyes. Full of life, they were, those clear green eyes. Full of fear, they were, and slowly darkening unreadable.

Now she was a pretty face, a heart to stab and green eyes. Not much. But Yami didn't want to know more. Anything more he would see. He would see how the life would disappear from those eyes, like lights turned off. He would see the blood, feel the blood, red and warm, as it would run through his fingers, which would turn into solid again. He would hear her last heartbeats. _Thump, thump._

How fast does the body turn cold? He would know how fast the body turns could, he would feel it, the warmth escaping the lifeless body. And then he wouldn't need anything more in his life. He wouldn't want anything more. The lust for blood would be all he need. It would control him, his actions, his feelings, his life.

He would kill again...

Yami raised the knife, ready to stab.

...He would stab their heart.

And when that wasn't enough...

The woman waited

...He would play with them.

When nothing could control his blood lust...

The shadows waited.

...He would shred them into pieces.

When he needed more...

Bakura waited.

...He would pop their eyes, and make them cry blood.

For him. For his own sadistic needs. To settle the beast inside him.

The knife slipped through Yami's hand, and he let out a small whimper when the knife hit the floor, letting out a small thud.

The woman saw it coming. She jumped up, dashed through Yami, and to the door. She seemed completely unaffected, like Yami was nothing but air. She opened the door and ran out.

"Fuck!" Bakura yelled, as he appeared from the shadows, both knives in his hands. He ran after the girl, not giving Yami a second look.

Yami stared blankly forward.

He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He wanted to throw up, but he couldn't. He wanted to breath, but he couldn't.

He felt nothing. A pretty face and a heart to stab couldn't help him anymore. He had lost it. He was too late. He was dying.

* * *

Bakura caught the girl downstairs. He crapped her by the pajama's collar and slammed her against the wall.

The girl let out a small 'oof' when all the air was forced out of her lungs.

Bakura held the girl up against the wall and put his knife on her throat.

"You will soon find out that I'm far more dangerous than my ghostly friend," he snarled, eyes full of mad rage.

The girl gulped loudly.

Suddenly the Millennium Ring started shining and humming on Bakura's chest. Both the girl and Bakura looked it in disbelief. The time stood still.

* * *

Yami always thought that air felt like nothing, but he was wrong. Nothing felt like nothing. And he missed the air. How it felt against his skin, how it filled his lungs.

Nothing looked like nothing too.

Yami knew he was still in that room, where he had disappeared, but really he wasn't there. He was nowhere.

Yami simply panicked, not able the feel anything. The cold hand of purest fear clasped his stomach. Yami never wanted to scream this much in his entire life. He just wanted to open his mouth and let it all out in one scream, but he couldn't. He had no voice.

Yami wanted to cry from the bottom of his heart, and pull his hair out, but he couldn't. He had no tears. He couldn't feel his heart. He had no hands. He had nothing.

So was he here, in the nothingness for the rest of eternity? Could you even be in nowhere? Could you exist if you were nothing?

Yami felt fear no more. That was a bad sign. Fear was always the last one to let go. But now that fear was gone, Yami could think again. He felt rational. He held to that feeling, and felt something else.

Something heavy on his chest. He looked down. The Millennium Puzzle. His Puzzle. Could Shadow Magic fill the nothingness?

Yami felt like blinking, but obviously he had no eyelids to close and open. Realization crept to him. The Puzzle was a memory, and so was his chest. His memories let him see them. His memories were still there, safely in his head. Slowly fading, the oldest first. Yami still had some time.

Yami remembered his hands. He put them on his Puzzle, nice solid hands, on nice solid metal. He remembered his Magic, how it felt. The Magic started dwelling around him.

'Help me,' Yami pleaded the Magic.

The Shadow Magic remembered. It remembered him. It remembered a spell, never before used. Yami remembered his voice. He started chanting. His voice couldn't fill the nothingness. A single golden flame, that erupted from the Puzzle couldn't fill it either, so it disappeared. The spell was finished.

Yami's hand slipped away from the puzzle.

He fell...

* * *

His knees touched the ground. Solid ground. Wooden floor of the room. His body fell. The floor caught him.

Yami opened his eyes.

He felt very alive. He was very alive.

He laid on the floor and stared at Bakura standing in the center of the darkness, which filled the room.

Bakura held out a small ball in his hands and stared at it, biting his lower lip, deep in thought.

After long searching Yami found his voice.

"Ba...ku...ra..." he whispered. It felt hard to speak.

Bakura heard him, that was sure, but he didn't look at him.

"I don't know what you did, but it sure worked," Bakura mumbled.

Yami didn't get what Bakura was talking about. Sighing Bakura raised his gaze to the ceiling and closed his hand around the ball. As soon as yami's fingers toughed it, it disappeared. They were like this for a while. Bakura staring at the ceiling, and Yami lying on the floor. Then Bakura turned to look at Yami directly into his eyes.

And in a sudden flash of image Yami got it. His eyes widened.

Bakura walked to him, bowed down, so their face's were at the same level and whispered, his voice echoing in the silent house:

"Be a good hikari, and nobody has to die."

* * *

_A/N: I'll go to read French now. I have a test Friday. Au revoir, mon amis!_


	9. Third Option

_A/N: Hello darlings! Thanks for everyone who wished me luck on my French test._ _It was hard. :( I guessed like 1/3 of the words. For one question I thought I wrote: I catch a big lion, but instead I wrote: I hide a big lion. :D_

_Warnings: This is a talkey, talkey chapter, so nope._

_Things will be explained! Yay!_

_Disclaimer: Don't wanna (do these anymore)._

_Yeah I know the title is lame, but I can't help it.....I think I go hiding with that big lion. :D  


* * *

_**9. Third Option**

"'Be a good hikari and no one has to die.' After saying that he got up and left," Yami told. "I followed him soon, but when I got outside he had disappeared."Yami sipped coffee from his mug. Ah, it felt so damn good after being without it for like two weeks.

"And the girl?" Marik asked.

"Dead," Yami said bluntly. "Nailed to the wall with kitchen knives."

Marik groaned in annoyance and burrowed his head into the back of the couch, where he was standing.

"I missed all the fun," he complained.

Ryou and Malik who sat in front of Marik on a couch patted him absent-mindedly Ryou to the hand, and Malik to the head. It was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but it meaning was lost because neither Ryou nor Malik turned his gaze from Yami.

Yugi stared at Yami too, from an armchair he was sitting on, near Ryou's side of the couch. He was disbelieving and just a little disappointed. When Yami had came home, he found both Ryou and Yugi awake and concerned. And the trouble duo, Malik and Marik were back from Egypt too, waiting for him. Perfect, just perfect. So Yami had told them everything, every conversation he and Bakura had, as well as he could, every plan he had made, every time Bakura had shot his plans down by revealing a new aspect to the matter.

Yugi leaned his face to his hand and started talking:

"So let me get this straight," Yugi began. "Bakura told what was wrong with you, something about being off-balance, but instead of telling us what it was, you stole Ryou's Ring and gave it to Bakura, so he could help you kill someone. And after Bakura had 'taught' that to you, it was your turn, but you couldn't, or you did not have the time to kill the girl and you almost died."

"I'm sorry," Yami said, though he found out to his surprise that he really wasn't.

Yugi just nodded.

"Now you're here, and alive. What happened?"

"I guess it's possible," Malik said, after thinking for a long time.

"What is?" Ryou asked, turning to face Malik.

Malik shrugged, still looking at Yami.

"If we add everything we know, and everything Yami told us, it's possible that Yami is now Bakura's hikari," he answered. " And Bakura is his yami."

Ignoring the gasps and the priceless looks on both ex-hikari's faces, blond-haired Egyptians tilted their head and gave Yami an evil smile.

"You were very lucky, pharaoh," Marik said "Finding an exact opposite to your soul is not an easy task."

Yami ignored the information that Marik either accidentally or on purpose gave him.

"You knew about this," he accused instead. "Both of you."

"We did not," yami and hikari opposed in unison.

"Sure we knew about the balance, and the killing-thing..." Marik stated.

"But this 'third option', "Malik shook his head," I'm not sure even Bakura knew about this. I..."

"Can you sense him?" Ryou interrupted suddenly, standing up from the couch, full of determination.

Yami blinked.

"Can you sense him?" Ryou repeated. "Can you sense Bakura?"

"I.... uh..." Yami stammered. "He shut our Mind Link."

_Our_ Mind Link. Wow, that felt weird.

Ryou waved his hand indifferently.

"I don't mean that. I mean can you tell where he is?"

Yami closed his eyes and tried. He could feel him, his presence.

"Yea," Yami murmured. "He's not so far away. That direction," he pointed, and everybody turned to look. "He's moving, farther away from us. That's all I can tell. I can't tell what he is thinking or feeling, just where he is."

Yami opened his eyes. Ryou collapsed back to the couch. He looked relieved for reasons only him, and maybe Bakura, could understand.

Yami raised his eyebrows at Ryou but let it be. He was not in the curious mood. He was pretty tired really. The coffee helped. He sipped his coffee and turned to look at Yugi.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

He was really concerned how Yugi took the news. That boy had really cared about Yami.

"I.... I don't know," Yugi said. "What happens to us now?"

Yes, what happens to the ex-hikaris? Yami didn't know.

"You're free," Malik answered. " Not whole, but free."

"Free," Ryou murmured and an odd smile appeared on his face.

Yami didn't even want to know, so he ignored Ryou, and concentrated on two Egyptians.

"Malik, if the soul, mine and Bakura's happen to get off-balance, which one of us will die?"

"I don't know," Malik admitted.

"Why don't you ask Bakura?" Marik suggested, a playful and evil smile on his lips. He had raised his head, after hearing the conversation. "He knows."

"Not funny," Yami said, glaring at Marik.

"But he's right," Malik said. "Bakura's Ring can put a living soul into an object. He knows a lot about souls."

Yami crossed his arms on his chest, indicating that this piece of conversation was over. Marik, who was bored again, and not allowed to kill, burrowed his head to the pillow he had snatched from Ryou's lap.

"Hey, Yami. Have you tried to get into Bakura's soul room?" Yugi asked, suddenly very curious.

Before Yami could even answer, Ryou shook his head and said:

"No way. Bakura keeps his door always locked. Nobody can get into his room, if he doesn't want them to."

"Oh," Yugi said, losing all interest and sinking back to his chair.

"Yami you should talk to Bakura," Malik suggested. "It's the best way to get answers for the questions you have. I'm sure he will give them to you. You're his hikari after all."

Marik, who was probably smirking against the pillow (Yami could almost hear it, that psychotic grin), let out a smothered, but acceptive mumble.

"Since you're now one soul, you could even try to get along," Yugi said.

Yami sighed tiredly and stood up.

"I'll go then," he said.

Marik's smothered shout followed Yami to the door:

"I want to talk to him too! Bring him back with you, will you?"

Yami shut the door behind him, looked around, until he found the direction and started walking.

Yami found Bakura easily. He was leaning against the railing and looking for something, from the ocean. Occasional gust of wind, or a car passing by didn't seem to startle him. Yami crossed the road. As soon as he was next to him, Bakura started speaking:

"A soul moving spell."

"What?"

"That it was. I thought about it. That was the spell you used. A spell which allows the caster to put his soul into someone else, into someone's body. Usually the new soul devours the original soul, giving it's owner immortality as long as he remembers to change the body when it gets too old. But you don't need that, do you?" Bakura turned to look Yami. "You're already immortal, and since your soul is only a half, you can't eat my soul. We're stuck like this."

Casually Bakura leaned his chin against his hand, and waited for Yami's answer.

"I did not know the meaning or the purpose of the spell, when I casted it," Yami said.

Bakura clicked his tongue.

"Shadow Magic did," he explained." It tried to save you. But haven't anyone told you not to cast spells, if you don't know what they do?"

"It worked," Yami remarked. "I'm alive."

"Yeah, and it's all about your ass again, isn't it?" Bakura muttered." Every spell has some kind of an aftereffect. And moving your soul into another vessel. It's risky business. You might feel a little strange. "

"Like?" Yami raised his eyebrows.

"A little hikarish. Like a good guy. Like you care."

"Pfft," Yami let out a small disbelieving sound . "Like I would ever care about you."

Bakura smiled, _actually _smiled. A smile that was nothing, it had no emotion in it, just a plain smile.

"I know," he said. " and you know I can't really ever forgive what you did to me."

Then he turned to look at the sea again. Yami examined Bakura. His thinness, his sickly pale skin, the scars on his skin. Bakura's clothes were still a little bloody, but he had obviously tried to wash the blood away. One black lock, Yami noticed, one black lock of hair against all the white. It was originally from Yami's hair. One white lock, that was what Bakura gave Yami. It was like a gift; 'Now we're one soul, and so I give you one lock of my hair', and stuff. Yami was happy that nothing else had changed in him.

"The island," Yami said after a long pause." I know."

Yami leaned against the railing.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" he asked.

"Are you trying to be friendly with me, Pharaoh? I thought you didn't want to be hikarish."

"I'm just curious."

Yami shrugged, knowing that even though Bakura didn't see the gesture, he felt it.

"I'm looking for a thing, that was taken away from me," Bakura told.

"And what is that?" Yami asked.

Bakura chuckled.

"Like I would ever tell you that," Bakura said. " I hate you."

That proclamation of hatred, serious but said with an amused tone, made Yami chuckle too.

"I know," he said, and he didn't lie.

They were both silent, staring at the blue depths of the ocean, Bakura looking for something that was his, but missing and Yami thinking.

"I wonder how can Marik and Malik keep their balance," Yami said.

Bakura raised his gaze.

"I mean they're both pretty evil, most of the time."

"They do it depending on situation," was all that Bakura said. He was clearly indicating that everything involving Marik and Malik was not his business. But right now he was willing to give his hikari any answers he needed.

"What about our soul?" Yami asked, flinching only slightly at the '_our _soul'. "If it goes off-balance, which one of us will die?"

Bakura gave him a creepy smile. Creepiest one Yami had ever seen, and quite frankly he hated that smile.

"It depends," Bakura said, his eyes gleaming madly.

"On what?"

"On who was first."

"Well, do you know?"

Bakura shook his head.

"You'd better be a good boy. Let's not take any risks." His voice was full of mischief.

Yami just nodded. He had got his answer. It was time to move to the next matter.

"That night, when you held that ball in your hand. It was my... _our_ soul wasn't it?

Bakura nodded.

"Kinda," He said. "It was more like a replica. A real soul, of course, is not an object, is never an object. It does not have form, it does not have boundaries."

"So in order to observe it, you had to make it boundaries."

"Exactly."

"Can you show me?"

Bakura didn't expect that. He blinked. Once. Twice. Then he nodded.

He stretched out his hand, closed it and opened it again.

Of course, a person who can not read or write shouldn't need words to use magic. Still it amazed Yami, when the ball just appeared on Bakura's palm. Yami tilted his head, as he examined the small object. Bakura motioned him to hold out his hand. Yami did so and Bakura dropped the ball onto his hand.

"It's light, " Yami said, making sure that his fingers didn't touch the ball.

"That means neither one of us feels guilty about what we do, or _did_," Bakura said and turned away.

Yami stared at the ball. At first it seemed like it was foggy gray, but it illuminated light. And if you looked very closely, you could see many different colors in it, mostly black and white though. The colors moved, so it wasn't really a ball. It was just a bunch a tiny bits of colors, or tiny bids of a soul, moving around. A whole soul, or two halves.

For a long time Yami didn't move, holding the ball in his hand, trying to figure out what every color meant.

Then suddenly Bakura's cold hands closed Yami's hand around the ball, and it disappeared.

Yami raised his gaze to meet Bakura.

Bakura immediately let his hands drop back to his sides.

"We should get back to Yugi's place," he said and turned around.

When Bakura was crossing the street, Yami caught a thought, one single thought through their Mind Link

_'I can't get away from this without talking.'_

_

* * *

A/N: *Is hiding with the big lion* You don't know where I am!  
_


	10. Psycho Fun

_A/N: This was one of those I'm-not-so-happy-with-this-but-I-can't-make-it-better -chapters, sorry. :D And it's also the tenth chapter of Soul Halves. I can't really say that I never thought that this was going to get this long, since I always thought this was about 16-chapter story (maybe more, definitely not less) There's not going to be a lot of Author Notes since I have nothing to say, expect the usual thank you for reading this and making me happy!_

_Disclaimer: it's tenth chapter, and I'm going to stop doing these. I don't own Yu-gi-oh and never will. :D_

_ifNo warnings honey. Have fun, don't kill me and remember warm clothes when you go outside (only if you have winter there) :D  
_

* * *

**10. Psycho Fun**

When you're friends with a psycho there's really only two kind of welcomes you can get, when meeting him after a long time.

The first kind was a warm welcome. Hugs and giggles. This kind of a welcome Bakura did not get, and he didn't really want to.

The second was the not so warm welcome. It usually involved some kind of a weapon or sharp nails, and possibility of screaming.

This kind of a welcome Bakura did get. The best kind of welcome there was.

Immediately after Bakura had got through the door Marik pressed a knife to his throat. Malik, Ryou and Yugi stood behind Marik, and Yami behind Bakura. Nobody intended to do anything. They silently decided to let Bakura take care of everything. Bakura didn't move, it would be stupid and he was not stupid. He stared intently to Marik's eyes and spoke casually:

"Marik. I didn't know you were back."

Ignoring his greeting Marik said:

"I heard you killed few people."

"Two, to be exact," Bakura answered, but the knife silenced him. A few seconds passed in silence. Suddenly Bakura leaned his chin against the blade and grinned. Marik chuckled, every drop of anger disappearing from his face. Then they both burst out laughing.

"It's great to be back in Japan," Marik admitted, still laughing and handed Bakura his knife, handle first. Bakura took it and put it away. After searching through his pockets he found one of his knives, a bloody one. Bakura turned it so the handle now pointed at Marik.

Marik grinned and took the knife.

Yami watched this little weird ritual, feeling very confused. He really should ask about this from Ryou, later.

Malik walked next to Bakura. Both blond Egyptians seemed to be waiting for something, Malik even raised his eyebrows.

Bakura mouthed 'later' and turned to look at Ryou. Ryou stared simply back. Even without the Mind Link it seemed that ex-hikari and yami were exchanging thoughts, talking their own little language.

Bakura gave Ryou a sweet, creepy smile. Sweet, like one you could give to a friend. Creepy, 'cause it was Bakura.

"May I use your shower?" Bakura asked from Yugi.

Yugi blinked, then nodded. Bakura smiled to him.

"Great. Ryou come with me."

Ryou followed Bakura upstairs.

"Get me a towel, and we talk after I have taken the shower," Bakura said before slamming the bathroom door shut.

Ryou shrugged to the closed door and went to get the towel.

After ten minutes a hand dripping water reached out of the bathroom door and crapped the towel from Ryou's hands.

Bakura opened the door. The towel was wrapped around his waist. His clothes and the Ring were in a one bunch he was holding.

Unconsciously Ryou shuddered when seeing Bakura's thin form. It wasn't left unnoticed.

"Oh sorry. Do I make you feel bad?" Bakura asked sarcastically. "How selfish of me. I should have thought about you before taking a shower."

"It's nothing," Ryou mumbled.

"That's my boy," Bakura grinned. " Do you have any clean clothes? Mine are dirty."

"Yeah. Follow me."

Ryou led Bakura to Yugi's room, where he was sleeping. He pointed at the bag lying on the floor.

"Pick what you want," he said.

Bakura pushed his clothes and the ring into Ryou's arms and made his way to the bag.

"You have to get you own clothes," Ryou remarked.

"Someday, maybe," Bakura answered. "But not now."

Bakura found clothes for himself and started dressing.

"Do you want to say anything?" Bakura asked. "I'm not your yami anymore. We have nothing to do with each other anymore, we both know that. You got rid of me." All this Bakura said matter-of-factly, without emotion.

"You know I never hated you," Ryou said." How could I? Hating you was just a one step behind hating myself. But I'm happy. That's the truth. I'm happy that I'm free."

Bakura turned and walked next to Ryou in nothing but jeans. A scornful look appeared to his face.

"And I guess I'm never going to be free. Always a half of something. You're free..."

He took the Ring.

"...Enjoy, while you still can."

Then he left.

* * *

Yami could hear Bakura's quick almost silent steps as the yami walked down the stairs.

Malik stopped speaking in the middle of the sentence, when Bakura arrived to the living room. Bakura was behind Yami, so Yami didn't see him, but he felt him, heard him, like hikari should. Yami heard the steps stopping near the door for a while, so Bakura could pull a black t-shirt over his head.

Bakura motioned Marik and Malik to follow him to the kitchen. Blond Egyptians grinned and got up.

Soon after they disappeared Yami heard Ryou's more careful, but just as silent steps as they started going down the stairs.

Yugi turned around to greet him.

"How did it go?" he asked.

Ryou smiled.

"Fairly well," he answered, and soon the duo were talking about the lunch like nothing had happened.

Yami, curious as he was, sneaked to the direction where Bakura had gone. His and the blond's voices were pretty loud. Yami could hear them clearly through the almost closed door.

"So how did this happen?" he heard Malik asking.

"How did you let it happen?" added Marik laughing.

"Look, it wasn't like I wanted it to happen!" Bakura argued. "One moment I'm trying to kill the girl and the next I have a switch of hikari."

"So how it felt?" Malik asked using his every-bid-of-information-is-useful-so-can-you-give-it-to-me? -tone. "I mean changing a soul half?"

Bakura humphed.

"Like I could ever explain that."

"Well can you cancel the spell, make Ryou your hikari again?" Malik continued his questioning.

Yami's eyes brightened with hope, but before Bakura could answer Marik interrupted him.

"Why cancel it?" he asked. "I like it this way. Me and Bakura are only yamis in the world now. I like it this way"

Yami imagined the grin on Marik's face... Or was it an image from Bakura's head?

"Whoppidoo," Bakura added sarcastically.

"Well you seem happy," Malik said, he was smiling evilly too.

"Yeah. Who wouldn't be happy to have annoying self-centered Pharaoh as a hikari? All he does is stand around mouth open, a stupid look on his face." Yami humphed. He did not do that. "He's too much of a wuss to save his own ass, and he's always asking questions, 'cos he can't figure the answers out by himself. Oh and he has a bad habit of listening conversations that really aren't his to listen." 'I know you're there.' Bakura's voice added through the Mind Link

Yami blushed. He had been caught. He starched his nose and thought about his choices. Finally he gave up, because there was no escape, sighed and opened the kitchen door.

Marik was sitting on one of the chairs, his feet were on the table and the knife, that Bakura had given him, balanced between his index fingers. He grinned a welcome to Yami.

Malik half sat on chair, half lied on the table, his back crouched and finger drawing invisible circles on the table.

Bakura leaned against the fridge, a small scornful smile on his lips.

"Do you need something?" he asked.

"I... well, I think Yugi need the kitchen soon," Yami said, not really lying, because he knew that Yugi and Ryou were planning to make lunch. "But if you don't want to eat..." Yami left the question open, and shrugged.

"Well then, I guess we need to give the hostess his kitchen back," Marik said before getting up.

Malik followed him out of the door. Bakura faked a sigh before passing by Yami and closing the kitchen door behind him.

* * *

The lunch, served two hours later, was delicious. It was peaceful event, though a silent one. Yugi was the one who kept on talking, even though no one else did. Bakura and Marik behaved abnormally well. Both were silent through the entire thing, both got up at the same time and both thanked Ryou and Yugi for making the meal, like normal human beings.

Yami suspected that something was going on. Psychos did not act nice unless they were plotting something evil. He would find out what it was sooner or later. He hoped for the sooner.

* * *

"Grandpa called," Yugi told later.

Yami who was watching TV raised his head.

"He's coming home tomorrow," ex-hikari continued. " And we have to go to school too. We have missed it for a week. Our teacher is not happy."

Yugi sat beside Yami eyes scanning the TV.

"Marik and Malik will probably move to Ryou's place tomorrow. I'm not sure how long they're going to stay. I mean they have to go back to Egypt at some point, right?"

Yami didn't answer. If something exiting was happening Marik was going to stay here. Boredom had drove them to Egypt in the first place. And right now all the exciting things were happening in Japan, so Marik was going to stay here, at least until he got bored again.

"What about Bakura? Ryou isn't taking him back, that's for sure. He's your yami now. What are you going to do about it?"

_Nothing_, Yami thought lazily, not bothering to answer.

Unfortunately Yugi misconstrued his silenced. His brows furrowed.

"You're not going to lock him up to our basement again, are you?" Yugi asked.

"Nobody's going to lock me up to that basement," Bakura's voice interrupted suddenly, almost giving Yugi a heart attack. The white-haired yami was standing behind the couch and glaring down on them.

"If you really want to try that, Pharaoh, you will soon realize that I can make your life a living hell." Bakura tilted his head. "Well?"

"Do what you want, but you ain't living with me."

"Oh, but I am!" Bakura explained sweetly.

Instead of hearing Yami's remark, Bakura headed to the front door Marik right behind him, humming to himself and giggling.

"Where are you going?" Yugi yelled as the psychos started to put their shoes on. Instead of borrowing Ryou's shoes like last time, Bakura took Malik's shoes from the floor.

"Out," answered Bakura, tying his shoelaces. Ryou and Malik had appeared from the kitchen soon as they heard Yugi yelling.

"Do you think it's wise?" Ryou asked." You haven't slept in two days."

Bakura gave him 'and-you-care-because?' -look

"You're not a spirit anymore," Ryou added.

"And you're not my hikari anymore," Bakura reminded cheerfully. "Taking care of me is now Yami's duty and he doesn't care."

Yami didn't even turn away from the TV.

"Thanks for lending your shoes, and jacket, Malik," Bakura said.

"You're welcome," Malik said and grinned. " Have fun."

"We will," Marik promised.

Bakura opened the front door and two dark figures disappeared into the night.

Yami stretched and yawned. He felt suddenly very sleepy. Well, he hadn't slept in two days either.

"I'm going to bed soon," he mumbled, though nobody heard." I don't want to go to school tired... Soon.. After this program..."

* * *

Yami woke up in the middle of the night. It was two A.M. actually. It didn't take long to find out what woke him up.

Sirens.

Sirens of firetrucks. It was a very annoying sound, loud and strident. And it wasn't going to stop.

Yami inhaled, then raised his eyebrows. Was something burning in here?

Yami sat up and his eyes shot open. Even the dumbest kids knew that sirens of firetrucks plus smell of something burning meant only one thing. Fire!

Yami looked around him. There was no smoke here, and Yugi was fast asleep on the matress next to Yami's bed. Yugi should have woken up because of the sirens. Yami frowned. He slammed his hands to his ears. The sound of sirens didn't go away. It was coming from his head.

'Bakura!' Yami screamed through their Mind Link.

'Yessss?' Bakura asked stretching the word.

'Are you burning houses there?' Yami demanded.

'Only two or three,' Bakura answered innocently. 'It was Marik's idea really.'

'Can you make the sirens stop?'

'Oh, but I can't control firetrucks. I guess the sirens will stop during next hour. What are you going to do about it?'

'You're sleeping on couch tonight,' Yami grumbled. 'Both of you.'

'Aww,' Bakura pouted. 'But I wanted to cuddle next to you...'

Yami shuttered, slamming the Mind Link close. But he couldn't keep it up in his tired state and soon the sound of sirens leaked through. And Bakura's insane laughter. Yami groaned in annoyance and slumped back to his bed burying his head into his pillow.

The sirens didn't cease.

* * *

_A/N: Whoppidoo! Tenth chapter is complete! :D_


	11. Bare Feet

_A/N: I got my French test back. It seems that I am a great guesser, because almost every word I guessed was right. I could have got a good number from it, but then I screwed up the easiest exercise in the whole test and lost immediately 8 points ( -Goddammit!) My french teacher said that if she had had a sponge with her she would have thrown it at me. I totally would have deserved it. Well, I'm still quite pleased with the test since I got 8+._

_ The spring is just around the corner. In sunny days I can see the snow melting. NOOO the snow. Well actually I love spring just as much as I love every other season._

_ I'm also sick. It's nothing serious, I am not going to die. All I have is that I have lost my voice. It's no fun, 'cos I can't talk._

_

* * *

_**11. Bare Feet**

The ringing of the alarm clock woke Yami up in the morning. He didn't bother to turn it off. Yami stared at the ceiling and sighed. Exhausted, he felt so exhausted. He really didn't mind the sound of the alarm clock, though most people did. It was still better than the sirens.

The sirens had ceased at some point during the night. Either that or Marik and Bakura had ran away, not wanting to get caught. Yami couldn't tell exactly when the blessed silence had ensued. All he knew that he had fell asleep and slept to this point, which meant something like two hours or so.

Yami yawned. Maybe he should get up. He had school today. And so had Yugi. Yami turned his head so he could see the ex-hikari, who slept in his room while Ryou and Malik had inhabited Yugi's room.

Yugi had already got up. That didn't mean he was awake. Eyes still closed he searched for the alarm clock. When he found it he slammed it silent. Yami blinked, staring at the clock. Yugi tried hard to open his sleepy eyes. The sound of alarm ringed still in Yami's ears. Or was it the sirens? A mix of them both, Yami decided.

Yugi rubbed his eyes and declared:

"I'm going to take the shower first."

Yami nodded. Yugi swayed out of the door. Yami turned to face the ceiling again. Damn, he was still feeling drowsy. Though he was in no hurry, he didn't want to fall asleep. He shouldn't. He didn't want to risk to be late for school. School, Yami grumbled half-heartedly under his breath and sat up. Should he quit school? Yami did not like school. Though he was many thousand years old he had just that much kid in him, that he hated school. Originally Yami had gone to the school just because Yugi asked. Yugi had wanted him to get friends. And he had. Yami liked his friends much, but the school, the studying it didn't inspire him. Was it right that the only thing that made him go to school was his friends? Yami scowled. Maybe he should do like Bakura, Marik and Malik. Just not care enough to go there. Yami shook his head, discarding the thought. He would study at least until Yugi had finished school. Then Yami would go to work. Maybe. Yami stood up. Breakfast first. Important decisions later. Yami chuckled to himself. Later. When it came to decisions, it was always later.

Yami started going down the stairs when a thought occurred him. Had Marik and Bakura came home or were they still outside playing their own little games? At least they hadn't cuddled next to Yami at night. Waking up between two psychos would had given him a heart attack. Halfway down the stairs Yami stopped and searched for Bakura. He was in the house. He was downstairs.

Yami was surprised that his yami had listened to him and slept on the couch.

Bakura's light against his darkness, Yami mused. The balance must stay.

But that Marik had followed Yami's commands too... My, my, this was very unusual.

Yami almost laughed when he saw the psychos. Almost. If those two were to wake up and found Yami laughing at them, Yami would regret it for the rest of his short life.

Yami still couldn't help but smile at the sight appearing in front of him. So he smiled, but for a while only.

Marik and Bakura both slept on the same couch.

Marik had crawled into a ball. His knees were close to his chin and his forehead leaned against the back of the couch. He looked like a small animal, a cat maybe. He was sound asleep and a little smile had crept its way to his lips. Bakura laid next to Marik in a weird position. His head almost touched the floor and his legs had been thrown over couch's back. His other hand was on Marik's side, and it seemed to be the only thing keeping him on the couch. Marik's face was all black, and so were his clothes. Bakura had now more black hairs than just the one Yami had given him. It was because both yami's were covered in thin layer of ash.

Being a psycho sure was dirty work, Yami thought, amused.

Two just a little crazy men covered in ash, sleeping on a couch after a busy night of burning houses.

There shouldn't be nothing wrong with this picture. Really this was completely normal to anyone, but something bugged Yami. It took a while for Yami to spot it. A small detail that made the whole picture seem wrong.

For a sleeping person Bakura's eyes were very open. Small pupils seemingly stared into nothingness.

Yami frowned. Sure he had heard about people sleeping one eye open, but both eyes?! Impossible. After observing the white-haired yami for a while Yami came to a conclusion, Bakura wasn't asleep. This 'state' he was in was more like a fake death. Bakura's eyes resembled eyes of dead people so much, that Yami had an urge to go and close them. But he didn't.

Yami couldn't think of a reason why would someone, even as crazy as Bakura do this. Why would someone want to replace real sleep with this? It didn't make sense. Fake death probably let the body rest, but the mind... Mind was always aware. Yami's musing were interrupted when Bakura suddenly blinked, his ash-covered eyelids closing for a second, before opening again, revealing pupils that had lost its glazed state. Bakura had woken up. He had probably felt Yami's presence and reacted to it, much like a dog. Yami wasn't sure did Bakura even realize that Yami was in the room, or was he just waken up without knowing the presence. Bakura sat up, staring dumbly to the back of the couch. Then slowly, he turned and let himself drop off the couch.

Yami smiled. This was amusing to watch.

Only half awake and half in that state of fake death Bakura tried to crawl past Marik. But he couldn't. Marik had grabbed Bakura's hand when he felt him moving. Now Marik, still asleep held his hand in a tight grip. Bakura in a kneeling position blinked. His eyes were at the same level as Marik's. Bakura tilted his head, and tried to pull his hand free. No luck, Marik's grip didn't loosen. Bakura poked Marik with his free hand.

"Not yet," Marik grumbled after enough poking to wake him up. " I'm not getting up yet."

"You can sleep to midday for all I care, but can you release my hand first?" Bakura asked.

"No!" Marik answered pulling Bakura's arm closer to his chest causing Bakura to loose his balance and fall against the couch. Bakura blinked again and sifted his position carefully into a more comfortable one.

"Okay," he said and leaned his head against Marik's back. Soon his eyes were as glazed as before

Yami chuckled. It seemed that even the psychos can be too tired to fight back. Burning houses must had wore them out.

Yami passed by the psychos, and went to the kitchen and made himself coffee.

As he poured the coffee Yugi and Ryou appeared.

"Morning!" Ryou said, smiling happily. " It seems that we have a couple of Sleeping Beauties there."

"Yup," Yami admitted. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Yami handed him the mug.

"They won't be sleeping for long," Yugi mused." Malik is coming down."

Yami paused for a while. He heard Malik rushing down the stairs. Poor psychos. Yami shook his head. Malik was the worst person to wake someone up. He had woken Yami up, once. Yami shuttered at the memory. But maybe Malik would be nicer to his friends.

"Marik and Bakura!" Malik's happy voice yelled. "Now is not the time to sleep!"

Yami hoped he hadn't spiders with him.

Yami felt through the Mind Link how Malik sat on Bakura's lap. Staring at both of the yamis Malik pondered. Then he put his ice cold fingers on Marik's neck and quickly jumped away. Marik screeched and dropped on Bakura.

Yami felt the confusion seeping through the Link, before it was slammed shut.

Malik giggled, it could be heard to the kitchen without any Mind Links, and so could the words that were spoken next.

"Good morning, darlings! Did you sleep well?" Malik asked.

"Until you came, " Marik answered grumpily

"Wonderful," Bakura said sarcastically. "Can you get up, Marik?"

"Why?"

"'Cos my back is killing me."

"You don't love me anymore?"

"It's not that..."

"I knew it! You hate me!" Marik screamed.

"Yup," Bakura admitted.

Marik humphed, but got up. Soon they both were on their way up the stairs.

"What's for breakfast?" Malik asked when he appeared to the kitchen.

"What you want," Yugi answered. "Help yourself. I'm going to go check if the newspaper have arrived."

It had. The hikaris and ex-hikaris were sitting at the table when now much cleaner Bakura and Marik arrived.

Bakura started making himself a sandwich. Marik read the paper over Yugi's shoulder.

"We missed one," he declared.

"Dang," Bakura cursed mouth full of sandwich.

"Missed who?" Ryou asked.

Marik grinned to him.

"Yesterday," he started reading what the paper said. " Near the river ...one of the houses caught fire... unknown reasons... fire spread... three houses burnt down.. severe fire damages for three more... a family of five and a cat... lived in the first house... asleep when the fire started... all dead... the cat survived... is now taken care of ... polices suspect incendiaries." Marik sighed. "You know they're never going to catch us. I still feel bad about the cat. Should we go back and kill it?"

"Nah," Bakura shook his head. "Let him be."

"But Bakura..." Marik pouted.

"All we gain from killing that cat is polices on our tails."

"God, you're such an Egyptian!"

Bakura smirked.

"True. But you only say that because you know I'm right."

Marik let the matter drop, and started eating.

Yugi was the first to finish his meal.

"I'm going to go pack my schoolbag," he said. "Finish your breakfast in peace."

"Yes sir," Malik said and snatched the paper to his side of the table. "Our bags are packed already, so we can move to Ryou's place when you leave."

"You too Bakura," Yami said.

White-haired psycho raised his gaze, and stared at Yami, confused and chewing a piece of tomato.

"You're not staying in this house," Yami continued

"You can kick me out of your house, but you can't kick me out of your head," Bakura reminded cheerfully.

"Well I think this as a good start," Yami said before following Yugi upstairs.

Bakura's carefree mind was again completely set on the half-eaten sandwich in his hands.

* * *

About half an hour later everybody were ready enough to leave. They all had gathered to the hall.

"You first," Yami gestures towards the open door.

Marik and Malik started putting their shoes on.

"Bakura, I have only one key. Go with Marik and Malik and help them get in, will you?" Ryou said.

"You want me to pick your lock?" Bakura asked.

"I know that you can do it," was all that Ryou said.

"Okay," Bakura nodded.

He walked next to Malik and stared at the pile of shoes for a while. A little smile appeared to his lips. Then he simply took his socks off and walked out of the door.

"What are you doing?" Yugi asked.

"I don't have any shoes," Bakura said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, wiggling his toe against the ground. "I can't lend Ryou's shoes. He needs them. So I'm going out like this."

"What happened to your shoes?" Malik asked.

"I think I threw them way," Bakura said, though he sounded uncertain like he didn't really remember what had happened. And he probably didn't. 'I guess I couldn't eat them,' he added in his mind, and only Yami could hear it.

It was Ryou's turn to oppose:

"I know it's almost summer Bakura, but you can't walk around the town barefooted. You'll get sick."

Bakura started laughing. It was a horrible piercing laughter, that made Yugi and Ryou flinch and Marik and Malik raise their eyebrows.

He was amused partly because Ryou still acted like a hikari and not like a free and happy person he should be. But there was more in this laughter. Yami could sense it. Something that defied all logic, just plain madness.

"The wind blows from the sea today," Bakura said.

Then he turned around and started walking away.

"Hey, wait for us!" Marik and Malik screamed and rushed after him.

Yugi and Ryou turned to stare questioningly at Yami. Yami shrugged, like he didn't know what was wrong with Bakura. But he knew. It was blowing from the sea after all.

"Let's just go to school, before we are late," Yami said.

Secretly he hoped that the wind would change.

* * *

_A/N: Have you noticed how the longer, more important author notes are always on the top, and never here? I wonder how many of you actually read them, not that I care, I'm just curious. Funny :)_


	12. Bored

_A/N: It's late. I shouldn't even be here at this hour. I'm sleepy. _

_I have to write an essay about being finnish. I don't like it at all, and i can't come up with anythign good. Can you help me? Tell me what you think about us Finns, and I'll be forever grateful to you._

_As I said i'm sleepy so there can be a lot of misatkes in this, if there is, I write this again tommorrow.

* * *

_**12. Bored**

"Yami!" Jou greeted the ex-yami in the school yard with a cheerful shout. "I can see you're not dead, good for you."

Anzu, Honda and Jou ran to Yami. Anzu hugged him, a relieved smile on her face. Jou and Honda just smiled. Yami was thankful. One friendly hug per day was enough.

Yami smiled to his friends. He really wasn't in a mood for smiling, but he had to show his friends he was okay. Though he wasn't sure about that either. Bakura apparently affected him. Yami was tired, Bakura made him feel tired. The yami was always on the move, he never seemed to feel fatigue, or he just refused to, but Yami felt it. Being lazy was a good aspect in human, had Yami decided. Couldn't Bakura be lazy for a while, so he could feel fatigue not Yami? Yami wanted nothing more but few hours of good uninterrupted sleep. Yeah, like that would ever happen.

"So what did you have to do?" Honda asked.

"Eeehh.." Yami stratched the side of his nose. " The class is starting," he said quickly avoiding the subject. " I tell you later, okay?"

His friends nodded.

* * *

School was more boring than Yami had remembered, way more boring. Yami found it hard to stay awake. His exhaustion was one reason for this, but so was his bored state. How come he had forgot every single boring detail during one week of 'sickness'? Yami flipped the pace, and started reading, biology. Boring. Yami marked something to his notebook. Who ever made these books deserved to be hanged for making the text so boring.

Yami sighed and leaned his cheek to his hand.

Guess after spending a week with Bakura everything normal seemed, well normal. And normal meant boring. It was not like Yami had enjoyed the week with the yami. It was just when you spend time with a psycho, nothing is boring. Wasn't this what Yami had wanted? Before he started to fade away everything was boring. Yes he had wanted some excitement. He had got it, maybe a little too much. Now he was bored again, when it was taken away from him. Yami let his eyes slip close.

He wondered what Bakura was doing right now, while Yami was stuck in this building, forced to study.

An image popped to Yami's head. Bakura and Malik were standing in lawn just beside Ryou's house. They both were looking for something, they both were smiling. Then suddenly Marik appeared. He ran past them screaming. He hit the door and in shattered to pieces. Malik and Bakura started clapping.

Something hit Yami's head. He opened his eyes. It had been a piece of eraser. Yami raised his gaze and stared at his teacher.

"If Mr. Mutou could kindly stop daydreaming, so we can continue the class," teacher said, smiling mockingly.

Yami blushed and rubbed his forehead.

"Of course, please do continue."

* * *

"What?!" Anzu screamed.

"Not so loud," Yami hissed, trying to make the girl stop yelling, but it was too late.

Everybody were already staring at them. It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was full of people. Yami had finally told his friends what had happened after they had helped him to get Bakura back, while Ryou and Yugi had hovered behind him like a pair of sympathetic ghosts.

Well as suspected they hadn't taken it very well. Honda and Jou were completely speechless, Anzu wasn't.

Wuhuu, Yami thought sarcastically. Couldn't the girl understand that this was not the time nor the place to yell?

And now here we are. Everybody were staring at them waiting for more to come. After all they were all bored and wanted something, anything to happen. Like a fight. Good fight meant always fun, at least until the teachers came. Yami however didn't want to discuss about his soul when half of the school was listening. Luckily, Ryou was smart enough to start talking to the silent crowd:

"What?" he asked. "Never seen a girl been dumbed before?"

The crowd let out an understanding 'aah' before returning to their meals. Fight was good, but nobody wanted to see a girl crying because his boyfriend, I'm sorry ex-boyfriend, was either a jerk or gay, at least if we asked from the girl.

"Thanks Ryou," Yami said.

"You're welcome," Ryou answered smiling.

"Rest of you, I would appreciate if you kept your voices low;" Yami said.

"Sorry," Anzu blushed.

"That's okay," Yami said absentmindedly.

"What happens now?" Honda asked.

"Well, I don't know. This shouldn't really affect your lives in anyway. I just wanted you to know about this," Yami said. 'This' being the matter of Yami and Bakura being now 'soul mates'.

"That Bakura," Jou growled. "I really hate him."

Yami blinked.

"But he didn't do anything to me," Yami remarked.

Maybe Jou was still sore about Bakura biting and clawing him in the island. It had left a mark.

"Yeah but he probably could have done something to stop it, or cancel it..." Jou insisted

"Have you asked him how to cancel it?" Anzu interrupted. The girl seemed to be more upset for Yami being Bakura's hikari than being happy because Yami was alive. Girls, nobody could understand them.

Yami shook his head both to Jou to disagree with him, and to Anzu, just to say no he haven't, but he really should. Though Yami wasn't sure if Bakura wanted to tell if there was that kind of possibility. If it was something terrible, Bakura would tell it, but then Yami wouldn't want to do it.

"If Bakura had stopped the spell, assuming that he could, I would be dead now," Yami said to Jou.

"Why are you defending him?" Jou snarled.

Yami blinked. He did not...

Wait a second.

Yami thought about the conversation he was just having. It did sound like he was defending Bakura to a person who didn't know everything about the situation. Yami knew better. He was just telling the truth, nothing more, nothing less.

"I'm not defending him. It's the truth."

If his friends didn't like the sound of it, then it couldn't be helped.

* * *

The day was finally over. Yami had almost fallen asleep six times, only to be woken up by teachers three times. After the math teacher had thrown him with a sponge Yugi took care that Yami stayed awake.

Now six friends were standing in the school yard.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" Jou asked.

"No thanks," Ryou said. "I'm going to check if Marik and Malik have settled in yet."

"Well see 'ya tomorrow!" Yugi said.

Ryou nodded and ran away.

"Well what about you two?" Anzu asked, smiling to Yugi and Yami.

"I'll pass," Yami declined." I'm too tired to do anything."

"Well you seem to be a bit tired," Anzu said. "You almost fell asleep during math..."

How come almost? Yami had snored and drooled all over his papers, until the sponge came and hit him to the forehead.

"....Are you okay?" Anzu continued

Yami nodded. He did not want Anzu to worry about him, the girl had that kind of a bad habit. Yami tried to say something, but instead of words a big yawn came out of his mouth.

"What did you say?" Honda asked.

"I said it's the changes. That's why I'm tired," Yami cleared. "I'm going home and straight to bed, okay? Are you coming, Yugi?"

Yugi smiled. They turned to leave, but Jou stopped them.

"Is he living with you?" the blond demanded.

"Who?" Yami blinked

"He."

Ah, Bakura.

"Oh he, no he isn't. He lives...." Yami frowned, He did not know where Bakura was planning to live. "He lives somewhere." Yami said.

"Ok," Jou seemed satisfied. "Sleep well, Yami."

"Thanks," Yami said.

Yugi waved to his friends before he walked away with Yami. They were both silent for a while.

"Yugi?" Yami broke the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Am I defending Bakura?" Yami asked.

Yugi gave him you-got-to-be-kidding -look.

"No really, am I defending Bakura? Jou said I was."

"No you aren't," Yugi said and smiled.

"Thank God, I was..."

"You're just acting a little hikarish."

"Yugi!" Yami yelled.

Yugi just laughed.

* * *

Only one thing was more horrible than waking up in the middle of the night, when someone moves around your house, and you don't know who he or she is. It could be a burglar, it could be murderer. It could be the God himself and you couldn't' tell. Only one thing was worse than that, and it was waking up in the middle of the night, when someone moved in your head and you knew that whatever it was it wasn't supposed to be there.

Yami sat up. Someone was moving in his Soul Room.

Yami cursed. Bakura, that bastard, had slipped into his Soul Room. And so Yami's sleep was once again disturbed.

Yami slipped into his Soul Room.

Invading other people's soul without permission, even if it was your soul half, was a horrible crime against one's privacy. It was like reading someone's diary, expect the Soul Room held secrets unwritten, secrets that even the owner of the soul did not know. And they all could be found out, if you knew where to look.

Bakura didn't care about privacy of the others, had never cared.

Yami opened his eyes in a familiar room. He started looking for Bakura.

His Soul Room was full of traps, of course, Yami liked his privacy. Bakura could easily avoid all of them. He was a thief after all.

Bakura had only three reasons to be in Yami's Soul room, Yami could think of. One, he was looking for something, or two he was just curios or three he was being a pain in the ass. Yami put his money on latter two.

Yami saw a familial figure in jeans and black t-shirt, near one of the many thousand doors. Bakura seemed to be reading the painting in the wall.

"Bakura!" Yami yelled.

The yami turned to face him.

"Well I didn't think I would see you here pharaoh..."

"Why not? This is my Soul Room!"

Bakura looked around him, like he had just realized that this, indeed was Yami's Room.

"Normal people sleep in night," Bakura said.

"Normal people don't have crazy psychos invading their Soul Rooms in the middle of the night!"

"Words hurt you know," Bakura pouted.

"A fist in the face hurts you know!"

"I bet it does," Bakura smiled. "Do you need anything, pharaoh?"

"Sleep!" Yami screamed.

" I can see it. You should go to sleep;" Bakura clicked his tongue and measured Yami from head to toes. "What happened to you, Pharaoh? You used to be cool. Now you're just grumpy, always screaming, always angry." Bakura paused for a while, and his eyes turned weary. "Always tired." He sighed, and his eyes were back to normal

Yami snapped. He never felt this angry before. He couldn't sleep, his privacy was violated, and then in the middle of the night someone who kept him awake told him to get sleep.

"Get out of my Soul Room!" Yami shouted

Bakura felt Yami's anger too, he took a few steps backwards.

"But...."

"Get out!"

Bakura grimaced.

"Okay."

He disappeared.

Yami was alone with his anger. Soon he turned around and left.

* * *

Yami opened his eyes. Now he had got Bakura out of his Soul Room, but he was still near. Yami found it hard to fall asleep. He stretched and got up. He listened to the voices of the house. Yugi's grandpa snored few rooms away, he had came home today. Yugi's room was completely silent, the boy must be fast asleep. Yami waked to the window, opened it and stared silently into the night before him. It was dark, clear spring night, stars shined brightly and there were no clouds in the sky.

Yami sighed, put his leg out of the window, searched for a foothold and started climbing. Up to the roof, to talk with a psycho. One sleepless night couldn't matter. But what about two?

It was one hell of a night ahead of him, once again.

* * *

_A/N I go to sleep now..._


	13. Name

_A/N. I think there's going to be lot of these tonight. And by these I mean author notes!_

_Firstly the bad news. I have the feared Swedish test tomorrow (scream please, it's just that scary) I suck at Swedish, the language is ten times harder than English, and twice as hard as French, which is pretty hard. But no worries, I will use my awesome guessing powers to pass the test! Plus I can't really say that Swedish is hard, when Finnish is probably one of the hardest languages for foreigners to learn (that's what I heard) Se johtuu näistä meiän oudoista taivutuksista._ _:D It's because of our weird conjugations._

_Also I'm going to re-read my chapters so i can take the most obvious mistakes out of there. :)  
_

_But there's a happy thing too. And I bet you either know or do not know what it is :D (my great guessing powers) Yes, I have got my 100th review. (Music please) You people don't know how happy you make me, or maybe you do. But every word you say, even if it really doesn't mean anything, makes me feel warm and happy inside. And I want you to feel warm and happy inside too, my readers, reviewers. I luv 'ya all! __ If you ever come to Finland let me know, so I can meet you at the airport and give you a real big warm hug.__ You're the most awesome people I have ever known, even if you just clicked the first chapter and then thought this was bullshit and left (if you did, you won't be reading this nah, nah, nah). Some of you are older than me, which makes me giggle (I don't know why), some of you are funnier than me, it makes me giggle too. And some of you ( I think most of you) are a lot smarter than me, which makes me ponder. I don't deserve you, my readers. I don't deserve you. And if I get a flame someday, I don't deserve that either. You are the most wonderful people in the whole world, and reading your reviews makes everything worth it._

_Here's a bit of one awesome song that I want to share with you: 'Without you I'm nothing at all. And life has the face of a morbid game. With you nothing seems impossible. It all seems to fit the frame.' I know it's originally a love song, but I think it fits to this situation. _

_That was it. I hope I made someone feel warm and happy. :) If I made, my work here is done. Now the chapter:_

_

* * *

_**13. Name**

Yami found his other half lying on the roof. A pair of shoes laid next to him, reminding Yami of the body. That man Bakura had killed, was it just few days ago? It felt like forever. Bakura looked like a body too. His arms laid next to his sides, and his empty eyes stared into the stars above him. His chest was hardly moving. Once again Yami wanted to check that his yami was breathing, and he wanted to close those eyes. Eyes of a dead man.

Dead men does not sleep, Yami mused. He felt still angry, but it could wait, at least until he got an answer to the question bugging him. Yami walked next to the motionless body, and stared down at it. There was a silent pause. During it neither of them moved. Bakura just laid and Yami just stared down on him

"You don't sleep much, do you?" He asked finally.

Bakura heard him, Yami knew he did. So he waited for the answer. Bakura struggled to regain his control to his sleeping body. He closed his eyes and opened them, once, twice. Though his body was now awake, he didn't move and his eyes still gazed the beautiful stars.

"Not at all," Bakura said. "Not anymore."

Yami looked at the stars too. They were abnormally bright tonight, usually they disappeared behind the lights of the city. Bakura's answer hadn't surprised Yami. He had knew it all along. That was the thing Bakura had been searching from the ocean that day. He was looking for his dreams.

That could sound poetic, Yami thought, the stars, the cold roof, lost dreams, everything. But neither one of the soul halves were poets, so the idea disappeared and was never made into a poem.

Yami sighed as the wind blew his hair to his face. He moved them away, golden locks, and the white one.

"Aren't you here to yell at me?" Bakura asked from the ground.

"Could you not disturb this moment?"

"Do you like it?"

Yami smiled to himself, when Bakura's silent mumble caught his ears:

"All we need is a sunset..."

"All right, if you really want it," Yami said after another silent moment. "I don't want you in my Soul Room ever again. You understand me?"

Bakura didn't answer, but Yami knew that his yami had understood.

"Can't you let me sleep?" Yami asked.

"Why should I give you something I don't have?" Bakura said. "Plus you could be sleeping right now, but no, you had to climb up to the roof to spend time with me." Bakura chuckled tiredly. "With a person who really can not sleep."

"The island, I know."

Bakura's gaze moved from the stars to Yami.

"Do you?" he asked suddenly full of hate. "Do you think you know?"

Yami was caught off guard.

"I...I well," he stammered, " I can imagine. It can't feel good to be alone for six months. Without food and water and well everything. But you must understand, that I can't regret sending you there. We are... were enemies. Everything is fair in war, right?"

"And in love too," Bakura said and got up. His feet were unsteady, he tried hard to keep his balance. When he regained it, he stood right in front of Yami.

Yami noticed how suddenly Bakura's eyes were full of tired anger, emotions that were bottled up for too long.

"You want me to understand?" Bakura asked, both voice and eyes full of scorn.

Yami nodded. That's what he wanted, though it could be impossible.

"Maybe you should understand first," Bakura said. "It's not about six months, it's not about hunger or pain, it's not about loneliness, it's not about that I couldn't sleep. It's about all of them together, and it's about time. I thought I would be there forever. I thought that I would be there until I just someday would stop being alive, until I would fade away. I thought I would see the same sky, feel the same pain, forever and ever. I thought nobody would come and get me back. You can't understand that!"

Yami looked away.

"I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago," Bakura said.

Yami thought what it was.

"Look at me, Yami," came the command.

Yami looked. He had never seen so sincere eyes. They hide nothing. For a moment they showed all, the pain, the fatigue, the anger.

That's before Bakura punched him, right in the middle of his face. Yami's nose let out a crack, but it didn't break. Yami didn't think about it. Only emotion he felt was confusion, but acceptive one, in a 'guess I deserved this' kind of way. Only thought crossing his mind was: 'He called me by name. He called me Yami.' It was the first time. Usually Yami was 'Pharaoh' or just 'you' to Bakura. Never before had Bakura said his name, and meant it.

Pain came later.

It came when Bakura was long gone. He had took his shoes with him too. Yami sat on the roof, holding his bloody nose with his hand. He felt pain. He hoped that Bakura felt it too.

* * *

In the morning Yugi and his grandpa asked Yami what had happened to him. Yami told the truth.

In the school his friends asked Yami what had happened to his nose. Yami lied.

When Yami was asked third time about his nose. He didn't say anything. He changed subject:

"You're a wise guy Malik, if you put your mind into it. Why can't you help me?"

Malik poured the coffee and gave the other cup to his visitor.

"As I said before," Malik answered, sitting on one of the chair in Ryou's living room. "I have nothing to do with you Yami."

Yami raised his eyebrows, as he sipped the hot coffee.

"You've been spending too much time with Bakura and Marik."

"Wrong," declared Marik's happy voice behind Yami. "If he had been spending too much time with me and Bakura, he would laugh at your silly request."

Yami cursed silently. He had wished to talk to Malik in peace like hikari to another. That was supposed to mean no yamis.

"Marik it's nice to see you too," Yami said.

"You can't say that, because you don't actually see me," Marik said grinning, and after some pondering added: "Unless you have grown eyes to your back. If you have, please tell me how. I want ones too."

Yami turned his head so he faced Marik and said:

"Well you haven't changed since we last time met."

"Neither have you. " Marik sat on the couch, and started twirling his hair around his finger.

"It was yesterday dummy," Malik said and gave his yami a coffeecup.

"A lot of things can change in one day," Marik argued. "For example, Yami can come and ask us a favor even though he knows that last time we lied." Marik smiled charmingly to Yami.

"I'm not asking you to do a favor to only me. If you do that favor, you would do it to Bakura too," Yami said.

Malik sipped his coffee.

"I don't know about it..."

"Bakura already owes us one," Marik remarked.

"But he's your friend!" Yami yelled.

"Our friend, our kind of friendship," Marik grinned.

"If Bakura needed help he would come to talk to us, not you," Malik said, leaning his chin against his hand. "I don't think there's anything wrong with him."

"Anything wrong! Have you seen his eyes?" Yami screamed. "He hadn't slept in ages! And you say there's nothing wrong with him!"

Malik and Marik looked at each other and shrugged.

"I wonder whose fault it is," Marik mocked.

"And I wonder who is trying to fix it!" Yami spat back.

"Apparently us," Marik said leaning his head against the back of the couch and staring at the ceiling. "You're trying to make us fix your problems. Really smart, Pharaoh. You can't even help your own yami."

Malik had closed his eyes when Marik and Yami started arguing. He whispered one word and opened his eyes.

"What?" Yami asked.

"Trauma," Malik repeated and smiled smugly. "Curing that one takes more than a lullaby or a bedtime story."

"Who would want Yami sing a lullaby anyway?" Marik asked, chuckling, and stared humming to himself.

"Well what it takes?" Yami asked.

"Bakura won't accept it," Malik stated, closing his eyes again. "Bakura won't accept your help."

"He takes it," Yami said coolly, though he was slowly getting angrier and angrier. " He takes it, he wants it or not."

"Isn't it a little bid weird?" Malik asked tilting his head. " You're practically forcing help down someone's throat who doesn't want it."

"I just want to sleep, okay?" Yami spat.

"Ah, I knew there was something like that behind all this," Malik flashed Yami a smile.

Marik had seemingly lost all interested. He stared at the bird outside the window and hummed to himself. Yami couldn't tell was he admiring the bird, or trying to figure out what was the best way to cook it for dinner. Knowing Marik, Yami put his money on the latter one. After Yami had came to a conclusion that the psycho wasn't going to enter the conversation anymore, he turned to Malik, who was drinking his coffee.

"He keeps me up every night," Yami complained. "I need him to sleep."

Malik let out a small neutral sound, lowering his coffeecup to the table.

Suddenly Yami realized that he was pretty much ignored by every one in this room. It didn't feel nice. He sighed. This was going nowhere. Yami was getting up, so he could leave when a familiar sound from the hall stopped him:

"Marik! Malik! Are you ready?"

"It's Bakura!" Marik screamed happily, and after giving the bird last murderous glare ran to meet the other psycho.

Yami was suddenly center of Malik's attention again. The hikari smiled to him sweetly and asked:

"Didn't I mention that Bakura was coming?"

Yami shook his head. It was his fault too really. He hadn't checked where Bakura was when he was talking to the blonds. Clearly Bakura hadn't checked Yami's location either. The surprised look he gave Yami was enough to tell that Bakura hadn't been aware that Yami was in the house. Marik and Bakura stood in the doorway. Before Yami could throw an excuse and leave, Bakura's eyes narrowed dangerously and he asked:

"What are you doing here, Pharaoh?"

And it was back to Pharaoh again. Yami sighed. He hated being called pharaoh, but I guess it was still better than just 'hey you with a spiky hair!' Yami stood up and locked his eyes with Bakura. The last night was still fresh in their memories, it seemed. Bakura gaze was full of pure hatred, and Yami decided wisely not to go too close to his yami. He didn't want a new punch to the face. Bakura tilted his head, but didn't let his gaze quiver.

"Well?" he demanded.

Crossing his arms to his chest Yami said:

"I'm going to make you sleep."

Blunt announcement shocked Bakura. He opened his mouth to say something, realized that he had nothing to say, and closed it again.

Marik and Malik followed the situation closely. Both had suddenly became very interested. Their eyes moved from Yami to Bakura and back to Yami like they were following a fast paced tennis match.

Bakura blinked, and looked away. He wanted to say something, do something. But what could he do? His confusion swept through the Mind Link.

Yami waited for the answer. It never came.

Bakura simply turned around and left without a word, shutting the Mind Link. Marik followed him, after changing few unspoken words with his hikari, maybe about the bird, maybe about Yami, nobody knew.

When Marik had left Yami turned to look at Malik, who was still comfortably sitting on his chair. Malik shrugged answering Yami's unspoken question.

"Your yami, you problems," he said.

Yami sighed. He should have known this. His yami, his problems. Deal with them.

* * *

_A/N: Dun dun dun du du du dun.... (*sings weird movie music, until her mom says she should really read Swedish*)_


	14. Trauma

_A/N: Again the first version, 'cos it's so late. I read this again tomorrow. I should really stop writing this late. :D  


* * *

_**14. Trauma**

The door was made of stone. It was a sandy color, which reminded him of deserts in Egypt. It made sense, really.

The door was shut.

Yami stared at it from the other side, his side of the narrow hallway. He sat next to his Soul Room's door, which was open, light emitting form it to the dark hallway, lightening it just a little.

But Bakura's door was shut. Damn.

The door was covered in red marks, writing and drawings. Actually the whole wall on Bakura's side of the hallway was covered with painting, language Yami couldn't understand. It was really Bakura-like, Yami decided, if you think about it.

Yami got up, and slowly walked to the door. He looked around him. He saw no one, so he put his hand to the door. It's surface was rough. Yami let his hands follow one of the drawings. His fingers stopped when the drawing ended.

Then he tried to push the door.

It did not open. Yami looked around him, making sure Bakura was nowhere to be seen and tried again. The door remain shut.

Yami frowned as he stared angrily at the door. Then he shrugged, turned around and left. He stole one last glance from it before disappearing into his Soul Room and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Next day Yami agreed to hang with his friends after school. It was Yugi's idea really. He had said that it seemed like Yami was avoiding his friends. Jou was getting really suspicious, Yugi had said, Jou was thinking that Yami like to hang out with Bakura. Yami had argued back, said that he was tired, and he _did_ not hang out with Bakura, they just happened to meet everywhere. But then finally he had agreed.

Everybody were there. The old gang, Yami, Yugi, Ryou, Honda, Jou and Anzu. Jou wanted to go to arcade, but Ryou had said he was hungry so they went to eat first. Now they all sat at the table, waiting for their burgers to arrive. They did soon, and everybody started digging in their food.

"Hey isn't that Bakura?" Anzu suddenly asked, pointing out of the window, with half eaten burger still in her other hand.

Everybody glued their faces to the window, trying to look. It was Bakura. He was on the other side of the street, sitting on a fence, so his head was higher than the passersby.

"Who's that chick Bakura's talking to?" Honda asked. " Oh no, wait, it's just Malik."

Kinda effeminate Egyptian stood in front of Bakura, though his head was at the same level as yami's stomach.

Malik said something funny, because Bakura burst out laughing.

They were totally oblivious to the audience they had.

Everybody had cramped to the window, expect Ryou who just ate his burger, kinda passively.

"You're food s are getting cold, " he said, but was ignored.

"I wonder what they're doing?" Yugi asked, half lying on the table, so he could get a clear look.

"Something evil, " Jou grumbled, crammed between Anzu and Yami.

The group, or their butts, were receiving angry glares from the people in the restaurant. Ryou hid his face in his hands.

"Where's Marik?" Yami pondered. " He's usually with them."

Bakura bended closer to Malik and said something. Malik nodded. People passed by them without giving a second look.

They were like this for a while, Bakura grouched forward and talking fast.

Yami wondered what they were talking about. He even considered opening the Mind Link.

Suddenly duo's heads darted up. They turned to look at something on their left. Bakura jumped down from the fence. He stood next to Malik, and put his hands to his pockets. They both stared and they both had confused, almost adorable looks on their faces.

Marik stopped in front of them, panting heavily because of the running, and arms full of fruits. Bakura raised his eyebrow to the psycho. The psycho grinned and said something.

Malik and Bakura immediately stared loading the fruits from Marik's arms to theirs. There were all kind of fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, even a pineapple.

Malik looked over his yami's shoulder and one word escape his lips: run!

Two psychos turned to look where Malik was looking. For a moment, the trio just stared at each other. A glint of amusement in Marik's eyes wasn't seen by Yami and his friends.

The trio ran away. Soon an angry crowd screaming followed them.

The group in the restaurant was silent for a while.

"Well that was weird, " Honda admitted.

"Thieves," Yugi said chocking back his laughter.

Ryou had already finished his burger.

* * *

Bakura collapsed against the wall. His heart pounded in his chest and his breath was heavy. He heard his two friends panting behind him.

"I think we lost them," Malik said, looking nervously behind him.

Marik just smirked. It had been his turn to steal food. They did that because Bakura obviously didn't have any money, nor a place to live. Marik and Malik were also broke, trying to keep enough money to flight tickets back to Egypt, though Bakura was sure that if they asked Yami would lend them money just to get rid of them. So they stole food, no need to pay, and it was fun too. Bakura always got out without being caught, and Malik too, but Marik was a different story. Bakura thought his psycho friend wanted to get caught, and chased out of the store. Bakura didn't mind the running, it was good for health after all, but Malik, the slowest of the three (though still not very slow) had a problem with it.

Bakura turned to face two Egyptians.

"That's it, " Malik continued, this time with a steadier voice. "From now you are not allowed to steal without us. Marik, I'm tired of this running! We get chased every fucking time!"

Marik laughed.

"But it's more fun this way, he argued.

"Idiot!" Malik hit Marik with a pineapple, but he was laughing too.

Bakura was fairly amused as he watched his bickering and laughing friends beating each other up with fruits. Bakura let his Mind Link open. Silently, so that Yami would not notice he pushed his fatigue through the Mind Link to Yami. It wasn't very likely that Yami would ever find out what Bakura was doing, Bakura had had something like 3000 years to practice and study the Mind Link.

When he felt better he shut the Link as silently as before. He started searching for something to eat from the pile of fruits in his hands. He found a red apple. He stared at it for a while in thought. Then he shrugged and bit it, savoring the sweet fruit.

Bakura chuckled to himself.

This was one hell of a way to get food.

* * *

Yami took a sip from the water glass on the table. He opened the laptop and put it on. Then he leaned back in his chair and waited.

It was evening. Yes, he had gone to the arcade with his friends after eating. Luckily he hadn't ran into Bakura, Marik or Malik since they had ran away from a man screaming death to thieves.

Yami didn't say that he hadn't had fun spending time with his friends. They hadn't gone to arcade since God knows when. Yami had had lots of fun, but he was happy to finally get home. A sudden burst of tiredness had hit him when he was playing with Jou, and that had got him really nervous.

Ryou, Yugi and Anzu had gone to find DDR for the girl, and Honda had disappeared to buy candy. Jou and Yami had been playing one of the hundreds of games in the arcade, when suddenly Yami had almost fell over, his head had felt dizzy and he almost fainted. Jou had asked if everything was alright. Yami had lied, again. He seemed to do that more recently nowadays.

He was relived when he got home, without fainting. He got to rest his tired body for a while until grandpa announced that the dinner was served.

After dinner Yami had asked if he could use Yugi's computer. Yugi had nodded, like he understood and started watching TV.

The computer was open, and Yami logged in.

Marik and Malik had been right. Yami shouldn't always ask for help from them, or from his friends. He should, for once, take care of his yami, all alone.

But Yami didn't know what exactly was wrong with Bakura, and he didn't knew how make him sleep. Marik and Malik probably knew, I mean Malik knew almost everything. Yami however couldn't ask from them, and they wouldn't tell the answer anyway. Yami was glad that they had Internet. If he couldn't ask from Egyptians, he could ask from million other people through Internet. Yami clicked browser open. He wrote insomnia to the empty box and clicked search.

Of course, it would be easier to search from Bakura's Soul Room, Yami was pretty sure he could find the answers if he looked hard enough. And Yami had tried it too. Bakura's door was locked, would always be. It would never open to Yami.

Internet was a good option too, Yami thought when the different options of websites appeared to the screen of the laptop. Yami clicked the first one, and started reading.

Drugs, said the text.

Drugs were always an option, Yami thought, kinda amused, in tired way, when everything is funny. How could he make Bakura eat them? Bakura wasn't stupid. Yami had told him what he was going to do, and if Bakura didn't want it he would find a way to avoid every situation he might get in.

Yami had never heard of someone avoiding sleep, but then, everything is possible.

Drugs were one option, if he found a way to give them to Bakura.

Yami continued reading.

Therapy, was another suggestion, but Yami crossed it out immediately. He just couldn't picture Bakura in a group talking about his problems to other people.

Yami read until it was hard to keep his eyes open and until his head felt dizzy.

These texts were made of normal human beings with normal problems, Yami thought, not to 3000 years old spirits, with special powers and lot of problems. Yami sighed. If he knew how, he would use Shadow Magic. He could probably make Bakura fall asleep using that.

Yami closed his eyes for a while.

But Bakura was prepared for that option, surely was. He was probably half expecting that Yami would jump to him in every corner, chanting spells and burning incense. So it was the last option.

Then Yami got an idea. He typed 'trauma' to his search engine. Few links popped up and Yami clicked the first one.

Bingo! Yami thought.

'Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event,' he read and skipped to the symptoms. From there he found what he was looking for. '...Insomnia may occur as lurking fears and insecurity keep the person vigilant and on the lookout for danger, both day and night.'

Suddenly feeling very exited Yami tried to read more, but his vision blurred. Another wave of fatigue hit him, it was just like the one in the arcade. Yami fought it, tried to keep his eyes open. The words in the screen meddled together, and Yami's eyes closed. He still tried to open them, but he just couldn't.

Does it matter? Yami thought, before he fell asleep on the keyboard.

* * *

In the silence of the dark hallway Bakura opened his eyes and looked at Yami's Soul Room's door It was slowly closing. Yami had fell asleep. Good.

Bakura smiled to himself.

He turned around and disappeared to his Soul Room, closing the door as he went.

* * *

_A/N: Zzzz_


	15. The One Who Was Left Out

_A/N: It seems that this story just keeps on getting longer and longer, than it was ordinary planned. Original plan was 16 chapters, but I think this ain't ending in one chapter unless I kill someone.... What if I make Yami kill Bakura (after a hot make-out session, 'cos I promised the yaoi :D), so he can sleep forever?...Maybe not. Well I don't think nobody minds. At least i hadn't heard any of you yelling: 'End this fucking story!' :D And if there is someone like that out there, then nah, nah, nah, no way!_

_This chapter has about 50% more Yugi than any chapter before, expect maybe the first two or three. I kinda like Yugi, but then I like everyone else too. :) I don't think there's much Yugi fans reading Bakura Yami stories anyway :D  
_

_

* * *

_**15. The One Who Was Left Out**

Bakura leaned against the railing and stared at the people walking in the the street below him. Small people. No, tiny people. Tiny insignificant people. None of those busy dots moving around meant anything to the old spirit.

Old, Bakura felt suddenly very old. He was, but it had never bothered him. Even when he was trapped inside the Ring, Bakura hadn't counted the days, or the years.

Funny, it hadn't felt like 3000 years.

Feeling very fascinated Bakura continued observing the people and the cars, who had no idea that they were being watched. How much can you learn watching nameless people moving? Bakura amused himself for a while, trying to guess everyone's identity. Maybe that one was a woman, young woman, returning from her lunch break. And that one was a man, running to catch the bus.

Very soon, Bakura grew bored, and he turned his gaze towards the clear blue sky.

He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere.

On top of a tall building, staring down on normal people, Bakura closed his eyes for a moment. He had never questioned his existence before.

Bakura chuckled to himself.

Sleeplessness did bad things to people. Bad things to bad people.

Bakura let every doubt in his mind disappear. Doubts were for normal, sane people. And Bakura was neither.

He had came here, just because he was bored and just because he could. Marik and Malik. Bakura was supposed to meet those two in few hours. Marik was probably still sleeping, the lazy yami rarely woke before noon. Bakura loved high places, and this building was one of the highest in the whole city. A perfect place to pass the time. He could have climbed here, but the thief had preferred the door, which had been locked, but was not anymore.

Bakura felt him long before he appeared to the roof. He let Bakura know that he was coming. Why would hunter let his prey know that he was approaching? To not startle him.

Bakura noticed that he had no way out of the situation. Well beside jumping down from the building, but Bakura didn't feel suicidal today.

Bakura smiled and continued watching normal people from up here.

Yami walked to him. For a moment he stared at Bakura, but when Bakura showed no sign of acknowledging his hikari, he turned to look at people in the street.

Yami didn't say anything obvious like: 'What a view' or 'Look at those people, they look like ants from up here.'

Instead he just said:

"You did it on purpose."

Bakura didn't feel like asking stupid questions like 'Did what?' He was silent and waited for Yami to continue.

"You made me fall asleep," he accused.

"And how did I do that?" Bakura asked.

Yami didn't know.

"If I had to choose between letting you sleep or letting you meddle into my business," Bakura said. "I would have to choose letting you sleep."

"So you made me sleep!"

"Don't you think it's possible that after sleeping poorly for three days you just fell asleep and I didn't disturb you?" Bakura asked.

Yami shrugged.

"Anyway, if you got nothing else to say, I'll go now," Bakura turned around and tried to walk away, but Yami grabbed his hand, before he could get too far.

Bakura looked at Yami's hand around his thin arm, and his eyes narrowed. Yami wasn't letting him go.

"I still want to talk with you," he said.

"Well, I don't," Bakura spat.

Yami noticed, how he was already used to this. He just tightened his grip, in case Bakura tried to get away. He didn't. Bakura sighed, his shoulders slumping, and eyes closing for a moment.

Tired, Bakura felt tired.

Yami curiously studied his yami. For the first time the noticed the black circles under his eyes. Well that wasn't a surprise.

Yami cleared his throat, and received a tired glare from Bakura.

"I just wanted to addthataimnutmn..." Yami's words tangled together and he frowned.

Bakura smiled slightly, motioning Yami to continue with his free hand.

But Yami found out that he couldn't. He opened his mouth to speak and he was hit by a wave of fatigue. His vision blurred andhe felt like he could faint. Yami knew what he needed to do. He let go of Bakura and squeezed his eyes close. Immediately Bakura took a few steps backwards and stared at Yami, waiting patently. A small mischievous smile brightened his face, as he watched how his hikari tried to keep his conscious. Yami leaned against the railing, breathing deeply in and out, in and out. When he felt better, and had made sure, that he wasn't going to faint he opened his eyes and looked at Bakura.

"You did this."

Bakura shrugged.

"Anything could have caused that," he argued back. " Have you been eating your vegetables, dear hikari?"

"You did this!" Yami screamed. "You keep messing around with my mind and my body now too!"

Bakura walked to Yami, and poked him to the forehead with one cold finger.

"Prove it," he said.

Then he turned around and started walking away.

"How long you think you can keep this up?!" Yami yelled.

Bakura froze. He just stood there, and thought about it. How long could he...?

Yami honestly believed that Bakura would turn around, smirk like he always did and say 'forever' his voice full of confidence. If he would do that, Yami would probably believe it.

But then that would have been lying, and Bakura didn't lie. He turned around, looked at Yami with his tired eyes and said:

"I don't know."

That was the truth, and when it was said out loud there were no doubts anymore. Bakura closed his eyes, and breathed out a small sigh. Then he turned again and left, this time without interruptions. Before disappearing Bakura raised his hand, giving an odd goodbye to Yami. Yami was now left alone. When Bakura had completely out of sight, Yami turned, leaned against the railing and started watching the small people in the streets, hoping to see the familiar white-haired yami.

Soon Yami grew bored, and started guessing what kind of a people everyone was.

Maybe that one was a woman, dragging her child behind her. And that one, was a man, trying to get money for alcohol.

A world full of problems. And no white-haired yami.

* * *

"Yugi?"

Yugi raised his gaze from the book he was reading. He tilted his head and put the book down. He got up, turned to face Yami and smiled.

"Can we talk?" Yami asked.

"Of course," ex-hikari said. "Let's go to my room."

Yami followed Yugi to upstairs, and sat on his bed. Yugi sat on one of the chairs in his room. Yami stared nervously at the laptop on Yugi's table. Yugi noticed it, and moved so he was between the laptop and Yami. Yami finally looked at him, and smiled.

"Well what you want to talk to me about?" Yugi asked.

"Yugi... What do you know about traumas?"

"Traumas. What about them?"

"How to cure them?"

Yugi let out a small laugh.

"It's not as easy as you make it sound. There's no pill or a magical cure to them. I don't think even Shadow Magic can cure them. Trauma can easily take years or even a lifetime to heal. And when you think the trauma is gone it attacks you when you least expect. Trauma is like your shadow, only something huge and dangerous. Imagine that you walk forward in a road of life, but you always know that you trauma walks right behind you. And sometimes, when it's important to act, to do something, it takes you, and there's nothing you can do. You just freeze, unable to move, unable to see, unable to think. Only thing you can do is repeat the thing that caused the trauma again and again. You can loose your sleep, or be forever in the land of dreams. You can seek loneliness, making every people dear to you disappear, or you can cling to a person, until he leaves. Trauma can make people handicapped forever." Yugi told. "Most important thing about curing trauma is talking. The person with a trauma needs someone to talk to, it doesn't have to be anything even close to the subject. The person must learn to express his desires, his emotions again. It's like learning to talk right from the start again. The person dealing with someone with a trauma should be patient, one wrong step, and we are back in square one. Be patient, and understand and maybe someday, he might be able to talk about it, freely, and then the shadow disappears."

Yami sighed miserably.

"So I'm screwed."

Yugi raised his eyebrows.

"Who has a trauma you're trying to cure?"

"Bakura."

"...Okay, I know this sounds like a rude question, but why do you want to help him?"

"I said to him, that I will make him sleep again," Yami explained "I'm not going back on my words, but there's no way I can cure this."

Yugi shrugged, and stared at the wooden floor for a while.

"If it's all about sleep, there's always drugs and Shadow Magic, "Yugi said, though he was clearly not approving that kind of treatment.

They were silent for a while.

"Well I think you're just as good healer as everyone else," Yugi said. "Maybe even better."

"Hmm?"

"Look at it this way," Yugi said. "Bakura got no one to talk to. Marik and Malik are his friends, but their friendship doesn't expand to words. It's all about having fun together, stealing stuff, killing a person or two. There's no way Bakura's going to open to them, they all know that. Then Ryou. He used to be Bakura's hikari, that's true, but they never had any connection. Ryou doesn't want to deal with Bakura anymore, he gives that task to you happily. Bakura knows his ex-hikari. He doesn't want to talk to him, and Ryou doesn't want to hear about it. Real therapists would not accept Bakura. Then me, and all our friends are out of the question, we hardly know each other."

Yami nodded.

"You're his hikari," Yugi pointed out. "You're a good listener and you really want to help him, even if it's just about the sleep. You and Bakura knew each other back in Egypt. Eventually, you will learn things about him, that no one else will ever learn."

It made sense. Though Yami didn't really want to learn more about Bakura, he just didn't want to admit defeat. So he would do everything he could to make Bakura sleep.

"Do you think I can do it?" Yami asked.

Yugi smiled, his sweet smile full of trust.

"Of course I do. Have I ever doubted you?"

Yami couldn't help but smile too. It seemed like the mere presence of Yugi made Yami smile, it always had.

"I don't know if I ever said this before, but you were a great hikari, and you still are, a friend."

"Yami, I will always be your friend, no matter what happens, no matter how many times you screw up, I will always be beside you if I can," Yugi said and laughed. "Did you think that the moment you stopped being a half of me I would just throw you out? There's more between us than strong resemblance."

Yami heard the sad undertone of Yugi's statement, and he understood. It didn't take a Mind Link to understand what boy wanted.

"Come here," Yami said.

Yugi nodded and walked to him. Yami wrapped his arms around the smaller teen and hugged him tightly. The ex-hikari buried his head to Yami's shoulder. He needed this hug. Lately everything was about Yami and Bakura, and nobody seemed to care about Yugi, who had lost his soul half to another person. Still he held no grudge towards Bakura, didn't complain, or seek attention. That just how Yugi was.

"I missed you," he murmured against Yami's chest.

Yami nodded.

"I know."

* * *

_A/N: Poor Yugi :( Hey, this was the 15th chapter, huzzaah!_


	16. Dream World

_A/N: Hello there. I would love to talk about, well everything, but i have to go to my drama club. ^^ A hobby of mine, which made me an open person._

_Anyway in this chapter we have some... Uh, something.... Walking? Well, they walk in every chapter I think. So yeah walking. Hahhaa, super awesome story about this chapter. But I just add this, when I wrote the last half of this chapter i had no idea what to write, let's see how it turned out._

_A confusing chapter too....  
_

_Enjoy! :)_

_

* * *

_**16. Dream World**

This place looked familiar. Yami had been here before.

The island.

It hadn't changed at all since last time Yami had been here. Why would it? What could happen to bunch of rocks anyway? And blood of course. The blood was still here. The red dried marks, like children's paintings. They were still here, on every rock.

Yami walked past one of the rocks.

This time it was night. A summer night. The darkness was warm and thick.

Yami looked around him. Soon he found what he was looking for.

Bakura.

The white-haired yami had his back turned to Yami and gaze turned towards the dark blue sky.

Yami looked at the sky too.

What he saw was both beautiful and sad.

Stars. They were falling from the sky. It looked like golden rain.

Apocalypse? Yami raised his eyebrows. It could be. This was how he always imagined apocalypse to be. Stars were falling and it was unusually warm. And it was summer. Apocalypse just couldn't happen during winter, now could it?

Though Yami would have loved to watch how the world around him ended, he had things to do. Things that couldn't wait for tomorrow, because, it seemed, there would be no tomorrow. Yami walked closer to his yami.

"Bakura?" he asked.

Bakura spun around, as he heard the voice. Yami's eyes widened. Last time Bakura had been in this island he had looked like skeleton. Now he really was a skeleton, nothing but bunch of bones together. His jeans looked way too big for his thin 'state'. He wasn't wearing a shirt and Yami could see his heart pounding in empty ribcage.

But it was definitely Bakura, no doubt about it.

He had his hair, growing right out of his skull. He had his eyes. Those dark brown eyes, sharp, intelligent and very much alive.

Bakura stared at Yami, seeming little surprised. Yami stared back at the skeleton, who used to be human.

Bakura didn't recognize his hikari, Yami saw it in his eyes.

"Do I know you?" Bakura asked, voice coarse, but polite. He didn't want to scare his only visitor away.

"I'm Yami," Yami answered. "We used to..." Yami searched for the right words."...know each other." But not anymore, it seemed.

Bakura had that look in his eyes. If he still had had eyebrows, he would have raised them. He ran his bony fingers through his hair. He sure had forgotten Yami. And he had forgotten something else too. Yami found it in his eyes.

Bakura had forgot how to hate. Had he been here so long that every feeling had disappeared? Had he forgot how he had promised revenge?

Yami had thought it would be good, if Bakura someday forgot how to hate, forgot what, and who he hated. Forgot his eternal seek for revenge. But now, when it actually had happened, this didn't feel right. This wasn't the real, emotional Bakura, whose mood swings nobody could keep track of.

This was just some skeleton, long forgotten, who had Bakura's hair, and Bakura's eyes. And Bakura's name.

"How long have I been here?" Bakura asked finally. His voice curious, though hie eyes weren't.

'I don't know' thought Yami's mind.

"3000 years," said his mouth. Oh, so he knew. Had he put Bakura here again? Yami didn't remember.

A dark red tongue appeared from Bakura's mouth and licked the nonexistent lips, before disappearing form the sight again. Bakura was deep in thought, if he still had his eyelids, he would have closed them.

"Funny," Bakura said, and chuckled. "It didn't feel like 3000 years."

Bakura turned to look at the falling stars again.

"Did you come to get me out of here?" he asked.

Yami shook his head. The whole thought of him getting Bakura out of here seemed to make him amused. Why would he let his worst enemy a change?

Wasn't 3000 years enough? Was the next, more serious thought.

"No, I just came to see you," Yami said.

Bakura didn't seem disappointed, maybe he had forgot how to feel that too.

Bakura looked at Yami from the corner of his eyes.

"Maybe you should see the world as I see it," he said.

Then he put his left hand on his left eye, and gouged the eye out. Yami winced.

The eye laid on Bakura's palm, staring at him. Bakura was looking himself in the eye. It must felt weird.

Then the skeleton turned and offered the eye to Yami.

Yami blinked, but reached out and took the eye. It felt both cold and soft, as it laid on his hand. Yami looked questioningly at Bakura. Bakura smiled as well as a skeleton could. He put his hand on his empty eye socket, like he was missing the thing that had been there just a minute ago.

Yami raised the eye, until it and his eye looked at each other.

The eye on his hand rolled around madly.

Yami understood what he was supposed to do. He put the eye to his mouth. Immediately sticky liquid filled his mouth. It was so sweet, it made Yami feel sick. But he didn't spit the eye out.

Bakura had now put his hand to his ribcage and was tearing his heart out. He took it off and offered it to Yami. The one-eyed skeleton tilted his head.

"Maybe you should feel the world how I feel it as well," he said.

Yami nodded and put his hand on the bloody heart. It was still warm. It was small, and light, like child's. It was still beating. _Thump, thump, thump. _Yami didn't mind the beating, he took the heart and put it into his mouth too, next to eye. He started eating. The heart was salty. It balanced the sweetness of the eye.

Bakura stood next to Yami, ribcage empty and one eye and one empty eye socket staring at him, waiting for something.

Something white, and something red dripped down from the corners of Yami's lips.

Something in his mouth still beat. _Thump, thump, thump._

Something in his mouth still stared.

* * *

Yami woke up screaming.

He sat up, and stared to the darkness, not seeing anything. He still tasted them in his mouth. Them, Bakura's eye and his heart. The sweet and the salt.

When Yami had calmed down a little, he started thinking.

Yami was sure this dream wasn't Bakura's doings. The Mind Link was closed, and Yami didn't hear anything form Bakura's side, not even a breath. It had been all from his subconscious. Ok, maybe some of it had came from Bakura's subconscious, but Bakura hadn't planned this dream on purpose.

Bakura would never plan something so weirdly touching, so comically sad. Bakura would never try to make Yami feel sorry for him. And that Yami felt, sorry for the skeleton in the island.

If Bakura had been meddling with Yami's dreams, they would be something more straightforward, like Yami killing Yugi, without wanting. Now that was a dream Bakura would make.

The dream had made Yami think. He still saw it clearly. The falling stars. The small beating heart. The empty eyes.

Hadn't 3000 years been enough?

Yami looked at the alarm clock sitting on his night table. The arms of the clock showed, that the time was 5.22. Yami didn't feel sleepy at all. He got up and started pulling on his clothes.

He hoped that Yugi, or grandpa had woken up.

Yami opened the door to the hallway as silently as he could. Everybody were still sleeping, nobody had heard Yami's scream. He could hear grandpa's snoring from the room across the hallway and Yugi's snuffling from the room next to his. Good.

If he wasted no time, he had time to go to see Bakura, before he had to go to school with Yugi.

Yami sneaked downstairs, and opened the front door. He inhaled deeply cold fresh air. The spring was here, alright, and summer soon too.

Yami closed the door behind him, put his hands to his pockets and started walking.

* * *

Finding Bakura wasn't hard.

The yami was awake, of course. He was strolling around the empty streets of the city, when Yami caught up with him. Bakura didn't even bother to turn to look. He already knew who panted heavily behind him, after running to catch him. Yami didn't utter a word. Instead he started walking just a little behind Bakura, so he didn't see his face, his eyes. That's what he feared to see.

The streets, they were actually beautiful in mornings, when there were only few cars, and few people out. And nobody seemed to be in hurry. It was a little cold, of course, what do you expect? But Yami didn't mind.

It was peaceful. Yami felt peaceful, and the nightmare was becoming just a memory, until Bakura brought it back to his mind by speaking.

"What is it this time?" Bakura asked.

"I had a dream," Yami told the truth. Why should he lie?

"Oh." Bakura raised his eyebrows to the empty street in front of him. "A bad one or..?"

Yami shrugged.

"Kinda. You were there."

Bakura chuckled darkly. Yami's dream involving him, couldn't be nothing more than a bad one. But Bakura didn't knew the dream he had been in. He had just heard the Yami's scream when the hikari woke up.

"So what do you want now? " Bakura asked. "You want to share your dream with me? I could give you therapy or something..."

"I just wanted to see you," Yami said weakly.

What Bakura said next shocked Yami and broke the peace in both minds.

"Maybe you should see the world as I see it," Bakura murmured absentmindedly.

"What?!" Yami stopped.

Bakura took few steps and stopped too, suddenly feeling very confused. What did he just say? And why did he say that? He had picked the line up from Yami's mind, but he never meant to say it out loud.

Judged by Yami reaction maybe the sentence had something to do with the dream Yami had had.

Bakura shrugged it off, it had been Yami's dream, not his and tried to continue walking, but Yami stopped him, by putting his hand around Bakura's wrist.

"Bakura," Yami whispered warningly."Turn around."

"Why?" Bakura asked.

Yami's grip tightened, his nails dug into Bakura's flesh. It started hurting Bakura, who just tilted his head, and looked at the morning sky, still a little dark.

"I want to see you. I want to see your eyes."

Yami had finally lost it, Bakura thought. His hikari couldn't take much stress, fatigue and insanity, it seemed. Bakura didn't have any choice but to turn around. Bakura closed his eyes and sighed, before spinning to face Yami.

"Open your eyes," Yami demanded.

Bakura did so.

Yami's eyes widened. The eyes, they had lost it. The emotions. Too tired to care. Too tired to hate. Empty, they were, just like in his dream.

Yami heard the beat of his own heart, and Bakura's. _Thump, thump, thump._ Too loud! Too much.

"Close your eyes!" Yami shrieked, letting go of Bakura and backing away. "Close them! I don't wanna see them!"

Guilt. The horrible taste of guilt in his mouth, alongside the blood.

'You did this to him' screamed a voice in Yami's head. 'Maybe you should feel the world as he feels it now! You did this!'

Yami put his head to his hands and groaned.

Bakura looked at him, and blinked few times.

"...I think I go now," he said after long pause. "If you still want to talk to me, you know how to find me."

Bakura walked past Yami, to the direction where they had came.

Bakura turned around the corner without looking behind. And it hit him. The fatigue.

How long could he keep this up? Yami had asked. Bakura hadn't knew the answer. Now he knew. Not anymore, not a single second more.

He had lost it. The game. Everything.

Bakura collapsed against the wall.

* * *

_A/N: oh no, I think I just did a cliffhanger! Sorryyyy..... :D_


	17. Words Never Matter

_A/N: Okay, folks, there's some super-important thing in the author notes tonight. But only after you read this chapter. I'll put it in the end, okay?_

_Now something less important. __I have never been this close to crying, when writing something. So maybe this chapter is sad, maybe it isn't. I had to remind myself not to kill Bakura the whole time I was writing this. _

_I need a hug.  
_

_Remeber to read the important thing at the end.  
_

* * *

**17. Words Never Matter**

Yami was knelt in the middle of the street, drowning in his misery and guilt, swallowing back the tears. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry. He wanted to throw up everything that felt bad, that weighted in his heart. He missed the feeling of innocent heart. It had been so light. Now it felt heavy. The weight of what he had done seemed to be too much to bear.

Finally he understood the consequences of his doings in full extent.

He had hurt Yugi, he had hurt Ryou. He had tore away the soul halves. He had broken 'a family'.

He still hurt Bakura.

And now he hurt himself too.

Bakura had said that Yami didn't understand, but finally Yami thought he understood, what Bakura felt. The pain, all the pain. Yami felt terrible.

Even though he knew that words were not enough, he wanted to apologize. He wanted nothing more to tell Bakura, that he felt bad. But it would never be enough. Yami didn't even deserve the change to start again. Bakura had treated him so nicely. Why hadn't Yami understood? Why didn't Bakura treat him like he deserved to be treated?

Yami gulped painfully.

He started remembering again. The Magic, the blood, screams. Bakura's scream echoed in his ears.

Everything was so loud. Yami's breathing. The scream. The car that passed by.

Yami slammed his hands to his ears and let out a small whimper. Staring at the street in front of him, he whispered again and again:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He could have been there forever, knelt on the sidewalk, whispering apologizes to the air, to man who couldn't hear them. But he didn't.

If there was a passerby who saw Yami, to him it would look like Yami just got up and started walking away, without a reason. But that someone couldn't see the panic in Yami's mind, or the stifled scream in his mouth. The passerby didn't know the reason.

Yami had a reason. A silent scream, he heard through the Mind Link, the pain he got.

The guilt made him get up. The guilt made him forget his pain, and concentrate on the pain of the others. It made him concentrate on his yami.

His yami was in serious trouble.

Yami felt it. Through the Mind Link came the coldness, the numbness, the emptiness. Yami knew what they meant, he had felt them before, before he became a hikari. This could mean only one thing.

His yami was dying.

Bakura was dying.

* * *

Bakura's eyes were open. He stared at the sky, but he couldn't see it. He felt a stone pressing against his back in a way that should be painful, but Bakura didn't feel the pain. And he couldn't move, he just laid there.

He heard his own heartbeats, and he heard the sound of waves hitting rocks, the sound of ocean, the constant moving of water.

Bakura knew what this meant. He was back in the island.

Did he even get away in the first place? Or had it all been a dream? One final dream before fading away.

Just let him sleep, before he dies.

No way. His eyes were open. He couldn't sleep. The island didn't let him.

A rational voice in the back of Bakura's mind said that this was the dream, the island was the dream, really he was in a street, lying there, dying.

Bakura ignored the voice.

Who would come to get him this time?

Bakura already knew the answer to the question.

No one.

Here again. Here forever. Here until the stars started falling down around him. Here until the world ended. Here until he faded away.

Bakura wanted to laugh. The whole situation was so weird. He wanted to scream.

He couldn't. He couldn't open his mouth and ask for help, couldn't open his mouth and scream, couldn't cry.

If he could, all that he would do. Even if it meant losing his pride. Sure, Bakura had his own, but when you're dying, what's the point in holding to your pride? That would be just stupid.

'I'm going to be here forever, again,' Bakura thought and then he thought nothing more.

His heartbeats faded away.

But his eyes remained open.

* * *

It didn't take much from Yami to locate Bakura.

The yami had collapsed to the ground. His white hair covered his face, and his back was turned to Yami.

"Oh Ra," Yami let out a small hiss and ran to Bakura.

He already knew that what he would see, would make him feel bad, still he turned Bakura around. Bakura's limp body was light.

The empty eyes stared past Yami's left ear.

It was like the time Yami had seen Bakura sleeping with Marik. This time it wasn't a fake death. This time it was something real.

Yami didn't know what to do. He tried hard not to throw up.

Oh whatever. Yami turned around and let it all out, on the street.

When he felt a little better he looked at Bakura again. What should he do? Should he call an ambulance? Should he call Ryou? The ex-hikari, who didn't care about his ex-yami. Malik? The hikari, who had said that Yami should take care Yugi? The ex-hikari who had said he couldn't help.

No, Yami shook his head to himself. They couldn't help him. They couldn't help Bakura. Only one who could help Bakura was his hikari, Yami.

Yami didn't dare to look at Bakura's eyes again. Instead he just stared at his chest. It wasn't rising and falling like normal person's chest should.

Bakura didn't breath.

And people who didn't breath, died.

Yami hesitated for a while. Then he reasoned to himself that nothing could possibly happen.

He put his right ear to Bakura's chest, trying desperately to hear yami's heartbeats. Yami stopped breathing, he wanted to heard something. Where was the_ thump_, that had haunted him last night?

It wasn't in Bakura, at least.

Bakura's heart had stopped beating.

Yami quickly took Bakura's hand to his own. It was cold. Yami held Bakura's hand and looked at the yami. To everyone else, Bakura was dead. Gone forever. But Yami knew that somewhere in him were still his soul.

Yami needed to find it

He looked around him, and saw no one. If he had time, he would take Bakura somewhere, out of the streets. But he hadn't time.

Yami slipped away.

To find his soul half.

* * *

Bakura felt it.

He laid on the island and felt it.

Someone held his hand. It was warm.

Bakura had never wanted cry this much in his life.

Bakura held to the hand, clung to it's warmth, though he never moved.

He felt the warmness in his hand, but no one sat beside him, in here at least. In the street, then? The street, he hardly remembered. Did it matter?

Did anything matter?

Bakura was slowly losing grip of the hand.

And when he would, he would die.

* * *

Yami opened his eyes in the hallway. Once again he stared at the strange paintings on the wall, on the Bakura's side.

Yami walked to the door. Just like he thought. It was open. Yami didn't give it a second thought. He entered.

Yami had been here before, in his dreams, in real life.

The island.

Yami frowned. This couldn't be right. This couldn't be Bakura's real Soul Room. This was his... trauma. This was the state Bakura was in right now.

Maybe, Yami thought, he hadn't completely removed the seal. Maybe some of Bakura was still in this island.

Yami stepped on one of the rocks. There, in the middle of island, where he had stood in Yami's dream last night, laid Bakura, eyes directed to the sky, chasing the invisible stars, like always.

'You just freeze, unable to move, unable to see, unable to think. Only thing you can do is repeat the trauma again and again,' whispered Yugi's voice to Yami's ear.

And there was Bakura, trapped inside the island, trapped inside his trauma.

Yami closed his eyes for a while, but when he opened them, the island was still there. Bakura was still there.

Yami walked to him, sat next to him, and without even thinking took Bakura's hand to his own.

"Bakura, I'm sorry," Yami said.

Bakura didn't show that he heard.

"Bakura, you have to close your eyes. You have to sleep."

Still nothing.

"You're going to die. Fight back, like you always do."

Yami felt the tears in his eyes. He quickly swallowed them back. Now wasn't the time to cry.

"Bakura, I'm sorry."

Nothing. Yami gently removed the black lock of hair from Bakura's face. And still he whispered:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

But it wasn't enough. Words were never enough. You couldn't kill a person with words, you couldn't save a person with words, unless you were a god of course. But to normal people, words hardly ever mattered. Words were only for questions, never for answers. Words were for problems, never for solutions.

Words did not change anything. The acts, what people did, changed. Only they really mattered.

Still whispering his apologizes Yami took Bakura to his arms. Bakura's body was light, like Yami was carrying a child. The eyes never left the sky.

"I'm not going to let you die in this place," Yami hissed.

Having Bakura in a tight grip, Yami started walking towards the door.

But the door didn't seem to be there anymore. Yami looked around him.

The island.

It didn't want them to leave. It held them inside.

Yami was panicking.

"Let us out!" he screamed. "I made you! You need to do as I command! I gave you Bakura, and now I'm taking him out of here!"

But the words didn't matter. They would never matter.

Yami closed his eyes and let out a cry. Bakura in his arms was getting colder, and colder.

The island didn't answer to Yami's pain. But the Shadow magic did. It started circling around Yami and Bakura, the thick, black and purple fog.

Yami opened his eyes, and stared at the empty sky above the island.

"If you don't let us out, I have no choice but destroy this place," he said. "You know I can do it. I created you."

Yami smiled smugly. The Magic continued circling and slowly it devoured the island.

Yami was sure he heard someone, not human, screaming. The island was alive. It was alive, Yami had woken it up, and it didn't want to let go of Bakura.

Yami put his hand to Bakura's Ring.

"Help me," he whispered. "We can get out, if you help me now."

The Ring started glowing. Bakura had heard his plead. Or at least his Magic had.

The circling of Magic got stronger, faster.

Yami stared at the sky, Bakura's empty eyes stared at the sky. Yami saw the first stars appearing to the sky, small lights. But he knew what it meant. The island was disappearing, the trauma was disappearing.

'Trauma is like your shadow, only something huge and dangerous. You always know that your trauma walks right behind you. It never disappears,' Yugi's voice reminded Yami.

'I know,' Yami answered. 'But let us try.'

The stars, there were thousands of them, beautiful lanterns, lighting up the sky, in Bakura's Soul Room.

Yami lowered gently Bakura to the sand.

In the distance raged still the storm made out of Shadow Magic, and the island, was still inside it. But it didn't matter now.

Yami sat next to Bakura.

"No," he whispered.

The eyes, they still stared at the sky, they still didn't see anything, they were still dead. His body was still cold. His heart still didn't beat. He was still dead.

"You mean it didn't matter?" Yami screamed to the stars.

The stars, like the island, did not answer.

A tear rolled down Yami's cheek then another one. Yami kept his hand on top of Bakura's cold one and cried. Cried for his worst enemy, cried for his yami.

And when the cried, someones fingers slowly wrapped themselves around his hand, holding them in a tight grip.

Yami looked at the body next to him.

Bakura smiled.

"It mattered," he said, before he closed his eyes.

Yami, though he was still crying, couldn't help but laugh. He laughed and held to the hand of his sleeping yami.

And finally Bakura slept, in the desert of his Soul Room, under thousand stars.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, the super-important thing. Actually a question, and i hope i get answers. Do you want me to continue this?? Because, ok, I know I promised the yaoi, but I think, I can end it in here, if someone wants, on the other hand, I can continue this, and do the yaoi._ _I'm okay with both options. Just tell me what you think, 'cos I'm not sure. The making Bakura sleep was a kinda end of something. A part? or the story?_

_Tell me your opinion, I appreciate it.  
_


End file.
